Maxim Miftahov, a young man with locomotor disabilities, will receive 10,000 lei damages from a private carrier that was convicted of discrimination. The court imposed the fine based on the decision of the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring of Gender Equality, IPN reports.

The Council stated that it reacted to a complaint filed by Maxim Miftahov, who said that his access to public transport was hampered. The complainer informed that he was discriminated by the driver of a minibus running on route No. 174 in Chisinau, who refused to take him on because he is a person with locomotor disabilities.

In the morning of July 31, 2014, the young man tried to stop a minibus, but the drivers ignored him. Being an eyewitness to that situation, a taxi driver decided to help the young man and stopped a minibus running on route No. 174. Several persons got on, while the petitioner had yet several steps to take up to the minibus’s door. When the driver saw that the man had locomotor disabilities, he wanted to set out, but the taxi driver stopped him and asked him to take the last passenger. The driver refused, arguing he does not have empty seats and will not take passengers to travel standing, even if there were already several persons standing inside. The minibus and taxi drivers started to quarrel and the young man left. He suffers from cerebral palsy and his disability is evident. In the hearing, the young man said he continues to experience problems when he needs to travel by minibus.

Over the last two years, the Council ascertained 22 cases of discrimination on grounds of disability, most of these referring to the access to goods and services.