Man sets himself on fire to protest court verdict in Iran

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A 65-year-old man has died after he set himself on fire in central province of Markazi when a court issued a verdict against him in dispute with his employer.

YJC.ir, a news website affiliated to the Iran’s state TV, is reporting that the man set himself on fire in front of labor and social welfare building in Arak city, 230 kilometers (some 140 miles) southwest of the capital of Tehran.

Earlier inside the building, a court issued a verdict against him.

The report said he died after self-immolating.

For many in the Middle East, the act of self-immolation — the protest used by a fruit vendor named Mohammed Bouazizi in Tunisia that became a catalyst for the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings — evokes broader discontent with economic woes and the lack of opportunity.

Earlier in October, a 38-year-old man, Ruhollah Parazideh, son of a war hero and father of four, set himself on fire over his unemployment and died in a hospital after two days in a hospital because of heavy damages. It led to dismissal of two local officials in Shahid Foundation that looks after matters of families of war victims.