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Karabakh war disabled Nizami Kerimov who on the eve committed an act of self-immolation in Azerbaijan said that for the provision of social benefits the officials exacted a bribe from him, Azerbaijani news portal Haqqin.az reports.

“For the first time when I appealed for the social assistance, they didn’t want to see me for a long time. However, I managed to get the allowance assigned to me and continuously got it during two years. When that period expired I again appealed to the Social Security Fund but there they demanded a bribe equal to the sum of four-month allowance. I declared that I wouldn’t pay any kind of bribes,” Kerimov said.

According to Kerimov after he refused to pay a bribe the Fund gave him the smallest size of social benefit but he couldn’t get even that.

“Every day they asked me to come tomorrow. I’m a disabled of 2nd group, I’m limping on one leg. My pension is only 50 manat (approx. $63). I called to the “hot line” of the Ministry of Social protection more than 60 times, but they wouldn’t to listen to me. Then I called to the police and said that I’m going to commit a crime but they wouldn’t take me seriously either. Yesterday I left all the documents at home, picked up a bottle of gasoline and went to the building of the Social Security Fund,” Nizami Kerimov said.

According to the article the executive power of Yevlakh district confirmed that Nizami Kerimov got social benefits till December of 2013 but then he was denied assistance because of improved financial status.

Haqqin.az writes that the veteran has been taken to Baku and put in hospital. Nizami Kerimov is in the intensive care unit because of his serious condition. His life is still in danger. “Disabled Nizami Kerimov poured gasoline over himself and committed self-immolation in front of the Yevlakh Department of Social Protection Fund. He took this extreme measure after the Fund denied the father of three sons his allowance. As the members of Nizami Kerimov’s family stated to issue the allowance the officials of the Fund demanded a huge amount of money from him,” the portal reads.

Note that this is already the second case of self-immolation of Karabakh war veterans in Azerbaijan during the last month.
Earlier on December 25 of 2013, Karabakh war 2nd group disabled Zaur Hasanov committed a self-immolation in Baku as an act of protest against the violation of his civil rights by Settar Mehbaliev the chairman of Azerbaijan confederation of trade unions. The disabled argued that the official seized his territory, where he ran a small café. In connection with this a protest rally was held in Baku by the Karabakh war veterans on 26th of December.