Azerbaijani court rejects claim of student dismissed for disclosing corruption

On April 5, the Nasimin District Court of Baku refused to satisfy the claim lodged by Elmin Badalov, dismissed from his 4th year at the Azerbaijani State Oil Academy (ASOA), against the Academy bosses.

Mr Badalov asked the court to recognize the order on his dismissal from the ASOA as illegal and restore him at training. According to his version, the real reason of his dismissal was his publication on November 12, 2009, of the article "Report from Oil Academy". The young man wrote, based on his personal observations and evidences of other students, about facts of extorting bribes from students of the Petromechanical Department and other Departments of the ASOA for passing their examinations and tests. After the publication, as Badalov has noted, he felt strong pressure at the Academy, and as a result of such prejudiced, in his opinion, attitude he was dismissed from the ASOA allegedly for his poor progress in studies.

In his conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent the former student said that at the trial Judge Ikram Shirinov offered the parties to conclude an amicable agreement.

Gasym Mamedov, Dean of the Petromechanical Department of the ASOA, who represented the respondent, spoke about Badalov's chance to get restored in the 4th year in September, for the 2010/2011 school year, since he has already missed his spring semester.

However, in the opinion of Badalov, the ASOA bosses have offered an obviously unacceptable condition, as till September "there will be two army recruitments", and he would be surely called in. "I'm not against army service. But let me first finish my study. According to the legislation, higher school graduates are called in all the same," he said.

"Should the ASOA managers had taken in the amicable agreement the obligation to receive a delay of army service for me, I would have agreed to restoration at studies since September. But they gave no guarantees of this sort," the young man has added.

In protest against the decision of the Nasimin Court, Badalov plans to go on hunger strike and to lodge an appeal complaint. "I'll struggle for restoration of my rights, and if necessary, I'll go as far as the ECtHR," he said.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has reported that on March 1 at a press conference held in the office of Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) Badalov said about the calls made from the Prosecutor's Office of the Bilyasuvar District, where he is registered, to him and to his family, demanding to recall the suit. Otherwise, they threaten to initiate a criminal case for his evasion from military service.

The Bilyasuvar District Prosecutor's Office, where the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent made a call, confirmed that they had invited Badalov for "evidencing", but refused to explain what he should have evidenced on and whether he had been officially summoned.

The dean's office of the Petromechanical Department of the ASOA rejected any political motives of Badalov's dismissal and said that his "academic failure" was the only reason.