Federal Lezghi
National and Cultural Autonomy

Azerbaijani Homeowners Protest Demolition, Insufficient Compensation

BAKU - Azerbaijani homeowners have staged an angry protest against the demolition of their homes in the capital's central Xutor district.

 

Twelve houses were bulldozed in the area recently as a part of a project to expand a local highway in Baku.

 

The authorities insist they've been paying an equivalent of some $1,900 per square meter for the demolished houses.

 

Homeowners, however, complain they have received $760 per square meter.

 

At one point during the protests on July 31, a female protester armed with an axe threatened a member of a demolition crew before she fainted.

 

Azerbaijan has been implementing an urban reconstruction plan since 2008, demolishing thousands of private homes in the process.

 

Rights groups criticize Baku for what they described as the forced eviction of people from their homes.

 

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Radio Liberty

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