VZCZCXRO8997
RR RUEHAG RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR
RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHKB #0411/01 1401312
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201312Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1232
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 1348
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 3397

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000411 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, DRL 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV KDEM AJ
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: OIL ACADEMY SHOOTING INVESTIGATION CONTINUES 
 
REF: A. BAKU 386; B. BAKU 366 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive But Unclassified. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary: On May 15 the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) 
and the Prosecutor General issued a public statement announcing 
further evidence uncovered in the investigation of the April 30 
shooting at the State Oil Academy (reftels).  This evidence backs up 
the GOAJ's case that the alleged shooter Farda Gadirov was mentally 
ill.  The statement also accuses political forces in the country and 
their foreign sponsors of using the tragedy for their own political 
ends.  This statement, however, has done little to quash speculation 
throughout the country about the shooter's possible motives and 
foreign connections.  The lack of an official public mourning for 
the victims is generally considered to have been a misstep by the 
GOAJ, and may have long-term implications for the government. End 
Summary 
 
¶3. (SBU) On May 15 the MIA and Prosecutor General's Office issued a 
joint statement on the investigation related to the shooting at 
State Oil Academy on April 30 (reftels).  According to the 
statement, the criminal investigation group, which consists of the 
officers of MIA and Prosecutor General's Office, has questioned the 
neighbors of alleged gunman Farda Gadirov, as well as the teachers 
and students of the Academy, who had witnessed the shooting, and the 
drivers and passengers of Georgia-Baku bus that Gadirov allegedly 
had taken to Azerbaijan.  Moreover, Gadirov's travel route and phone 
calls were investigated, and apartments where he had stayed in Baku 
and the Dashtepe village of Georgia were checked. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The investigation group gathered video records of areas 
where Gadirov had been seen on the day of shooting.  The 
investigation group traveled to the village of Dashtepe, where 
Gadirov spent several months, and to Russia to gather information 
about Gadirov's connections and contacts.  During the joint criminal 
investigation in Dashtepe village of Georgia with Georgian 
law-enforcement bodies, the Azerbaijani investigation group found 
many documents, including records related to the gun used at the 
shooting, dated 24 October 2008, purchased from "Kula ARMS Georgia" 
in Tbilisi.  Additionally, 14 cartridges, two boxes of bullets, a 
knife, gloves, photos, 15 video cassettes, a phonebook, etc., were 
uncovered. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Law enforcement figures noted that there were some notes on 
the photos: "February 24, 2009, Gadirov Farda - lonely wolf" and 
"November 10, 2008, Gadirov Farda - My every step is death".  While 
investigating his mobile phone records, the investigation group 
found several video records of him posing with a pistol. 
Accompanying those videos were notes in Russian saying "Look at my 
phone, you'll see who I am," "There is no love for me, only hate," 
and "I'm coming to Baku and to shoot at everybody on my way 
regardless of their age; I'll never give up police.  I'll enjoy 
killing". 
 
¶6. (SBU) As a result of joint investigation with Georgian 
law-enforcement bodies, Azerbaijani law enforcement claimed to 
discover that Farda Gadirov had been in close touch with Georgian 
citizen Sergey Yegorovich Grigoryan, born in 1961, Armenian by 
origin.  Together they paid 500 lari (Georgian money) for the 
Makarov gun and 200 lari for 100 cartridges.  The investigation 
group is reportedly looking into Sergey Grigoryan's involvement in 
the crime. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The authorities have made clear that the investigation of 
this crime is under the President's direct control. Local 
law-enforcement bodies seem concerned about alternative thoughts. 
Their statement says that some domestic political representatives 
and media workers, and their foreign sponsors spread rumors, false 
testimonies collected from the students of the State Oil Academy 
with the aim to destabilize the situation in the country, and to 
weaken the faith to the government.  In addition, several of the 
young people who were detained during protests on May 10 (reftel A) 
have reported that in the last week police have come to their 
parents' houses and questioned them about their children's 
activities. In addition, Education Minister Misir Mardanov's May 19 
statements that schools should forego end-of-school-year proms this 
year was largely interpreted as a sign that the government is 
clearly concerned that the April 30 shootings may not be an isolated 
once-in-a-generation tragedy. 
 
Alternative Viewpoints 
---------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Oil Academy shooting is still a major topic for 
Azerbaijan's media and among independent bloggers and other 
commentators.  Some media sources claim that the video recordings 
and photos found at Gadirov's house in Dashtepe, Georgia, are false. 
 
BAKU 00000411  002 OF 002 
 
 
 The person captured on the video is not Farda Gadirov, they say, 
but rather a person who looks similar.  Likewise, they maintain that 
the film that he supposedly created was made not by mobile phone but 
by a professional video camera, perhaps after the fact.  Many people 
continue to state that there was Russian involvement in the 
shooting, given Gadirov and his family's strong ties to Russia. 
 
¶9. (SBU) By publicizing this "evidence," including pictures of Farda 
Gadirov posing with a pistol, the government, some say, is trying to 
hide the actual work of terrorists or others with political motives 
that might really lie behind the crime.  It is more convenient, some 
say, to introduce Gadirov as a psychologically deranged person.  In 
that light, some in Baku have taken note that Dayanat Rzayev, Head 
Psychologist of the Regional Physiology Centre, said that there was 
no medical record proving him to be mentally ill. 
 
Comment 
-------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) This shooting, the first of its kind in Azerbaijan, 
continues to resonate.  The official statements regarding the 
investigation have not calmed speculation about the motives, 
especially given that there is little public confidence in the 
capabilities of the country's justice system.  The GOAJ's decision 
not to declare a time of public mourning for the victims continued 
to be criticized by many, especially among the more politically 
active youth.  The strong anti-government reaction sparked by the 
events may have long-term implications for the public support of 
this government.