Azernews.Az

BAKU – Three Azerbaijani army officers have posted a video online addressed to President Ilham Aliyev complaining about the alleged financial demands put on them by their commanding officer, a claim dismissed by law enforcement officials.

Radio Liberty 's Azerbaijani Service reports that Captain Ramin Gasimov, Lieutenant Asgar Asgarov, and warrant officer Shahlar Rzayev say they were forced to use their own money to buy construction materials for repairs to their barracks in the south-central district of Beylagan that were damaged by strong winds.

"The wind destroyed the roof of the barracks and also the bathroom we built some 20-25 days ago," Gasimov says in the video. "The commander told us we should repair them ourselves. We were obliged to do so. We pawned our salary cards to buy construction materials."

The officers are demanding that the Defense Ministry repay the money they spent on construction materials and that they receive new salary cards.

Vagif Mammadov, an official of the ministry, has dismissed the corruption allegations, saying "the state of affairs is not at all as it is described in the appeal".

Mammadov told a news conference Friday that one of the officers who filed the complaint, Captain Gasimov, faces a criminal case.

The ministry official said that despite being a young officer, Gasimov has on several occasions abused his inferiors, and military commanders were informed of these instances.

"But considering that Ramin Gasimov is a young officer, an explanatory conversation was merely conducted with him to make sure that this doesn’t happen again," Mammadov said.

He noted that the latest complaint over Gasimov’s conduct was received by his superiors in June after he presumably tortured two other servicemen.

"After that, an investigation began. This time, the captain did not enjoy any concessions, and on July 4, the Military Prosecutor’s Office launched a criminal case on charges of ‘an insult, beating or torture of another serviceman’ of the Criminal Code," Mammadov said.

Gasimov could be sentenced to seven to nine years in prison, if convicted.

Mammadov said Gasimov’s fellow servicemen admitted while providing an explanation to law enforcers that he threatened with "revenge" if the criminal charges against him are not dropped.

As for the other two servicemen who appealed to President Aliyev, the ministry official noted that they said in their explanation that they "did not understand what the matter was about and simply report to Gasimov as their commander".

Mammadov added that during a search alcoholic drinks were found among Gasimov’s personal belongings.