Azerbaijan: Baku resident goes on hunger strike

Gurban Aliev, a resident of the city of Baku, went on a hunger strike in front of the State Committee for State Property Management (SCSPM) of Azerbaijan. He demands to restore his ownership rights.

Earlier, he lived in No. 95/97 in Neftyanikov Avenue in Baku, where Gurban Aliev also ran a shop and a cafe in the ground floor. However, the building was demolished in late 2009, and the owners of apartments and commercial objects were evicted.

The aim of Gurban Aliev's hunger strike is to draw attention to the fact that the SCSPM failed to give the expert's estimate of Aliev's property in the demolished house; therefore, the court protracts the consideration of his case. "They do all this intentionally in order to hamper my complaint to the European Court of Human Rights," said Aliev.

The owners of the demolished property were offered the compensation at a rate of 2000 manats (about 2500 US dollars) per 1 square meter. According to the owners' opinion, it is much below the market prices on real estate in this central region of Baku. The house was demolished based on the local Ministry of Emergencies' conclusion that the house was at risk of collapse. Now there is a green lawn in the place of the demolished building, the "Echo of the Caucasus" reports.

According to Gurban Aliev, all other owners, except for two persons, are also at litigation with the authorities demanding fair compensation, the "Aysor.am" reports.