University of Economics seizes citizen's private land ownership

The expansion of opportunities and the transfer of the building of the State Economic University (UNEC)  from the center of Baku to the outskirts of the city resulted in the violations of the law, and the invasion of the private property of Mirvaleh Movsumov Seyidrza oglu.

"I bring to your attention that the State Economic University of Azerbaijan has been building a new educational building for about two years, at 194 M. Mukhtarov Str., Yasamal district, Baku. During the construction process, the University seized the land owned by me, located in the M.Mukhtarov St. 190. A road was laid in my area, water and sewer communications were carried out (which in the future does not allow me to lay the foundation of the building), a gas system was installed, etc. On my repeated appeals to the leadership of the University, the rector Adalat Muradov, explained that the University has an approved draft sketch,” reads the letter to Turan agency.

Movsumov filed a lawsuit in the Yasamal court of Baku, where the university filed a counterclaim. In August 2019, Movsumov asked the court to force the university stop work on its site, and the University of Economics asks the same court to transfer part of the citizen’s territory to the university. Moreover, the text of the counterclaim, signed by the leadership of the university, notes that the owner of this site is Movsumov.

Movsumov met with the rector of the university, Adalat Muradov, at the end of January 2020. In the presence of 6-8 of his employees,  the rector Muradov made a speech in which he convinced that "the 21st century is not the time when someone  can seizure someone else’s property," and issued a verdict: to change the sketch, withdraw the counterclaim in court back, restore justice. None of what was said by the rector was done.

The trial continued. A technical examination confirmed the correctness of the claim of Movsumov. Turan has a copy of this document. Experts admitted that the University had opened a gate to Movsumov’s territory, heavy trucks were driving in the Movsumov land, the works continue, pipes had been dug into Movsumov’s land, and engineering structures had been built. The expert notes that because of these works Movsumov cannot build a house on his site.

The court trial continues and a second examination has been scheduled. Movsumov reports that the rector A. Muradov, using the name of President Ilham Aliyev, is putting pressure on the court, the examination and other state bodies informing them that the president will come to open the new building of the University.

“It was as if the head of state gave the order to seize the land and invite him to the opening of a new building. This is detrimental to the image of the president. I don’t know how the University, where thousands of young people get higher education, can develop science, knowledge and seize other people's property," the owner of the site Mir Valeh Movsumov is surprised.

In a telephone conversation with Turan, Kamala Bunyadova, the lawyer of the University of Economics, confirmed the continuation of the civil lawsuit between Movsumov and the university. Because of pandemic, the lawyer is working from home and does not have the documents of this case at hand, so she could not provide more information, and said that she could not say anything specific before the trial. The lawyer did not answer our question: will the university comply with the court’s decision if Movsumov’s lawsuit is satisfied.

In a telephone conversation with Turan, lawyer at the University of Economics Kamala Bunyadova confirmed the continuation of the civil lawsuit between Movsumov and the university. The lawyer is working from home in connection with the pandemic and does not have the documents of this case at hand, so she could not provide more information except that she could not say anything specific before the trial. The lawyer did not answer our question: will the university comply with the court’s decision if Movsumov’s lawsuit is satisfied.

Documents sent to the editorial office by Movsumov about his ownership of the site show that the University violated Articles 24 and 25 of the Constitution on the fundamental rights of a citizen and the legal equality of all before the law and the court. Movsumov in a statement of claim to the court recalls the Article 111 of the Land Code on the illegality of seizure and construction on someone else’s territory and the obligation of the second party to return the seized property without levying the cost of construction on this site. In this case, the University of Economics, as follows from Article 111 of the Code, is obliged to bring the citizen's site to its original state at its own expense.

Movsumov’s lawsuit of August 20, 2019 is accompanied by copies of documents and photographs, which are also available in the editorial office.