Son of Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission chair accused of domestic violence

On 2 May, the pro-government media outlet Haqqin.az published an article in which the daughter-in-law of Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) chair Mazahir Panahov claimed she had been severely beaten by her husband, causing her to give birth prematurely, after which the child died.

The woman, who asked journalists to only refer to her by her initials H.P., claimed that before marrying Mahammad Panahov, he had shown no inclinations of violence.

‘We got married in June 2022, and ten days after the wedding, he started beating me’, she said. ‘He drank 20–25 bottles of beer and threw all the empty bottles at me. It hurt me, but it didn't stop him. I ran away from home to escape his violence’, she told OC Media.

She added that due to her husband’s alcohol addiction, they were reliant on money from his father Mazahir Panahov.

Haqqin.az also reported the couple resided in a $2 million villa in the upscale Bel-Air neighborhood in Los Angeles, reportedly purchased through a company registered to Mahammad Panahov and his mother.

According to H.P., in May 2024, after being beaten again by her husband, she decided to run away from home. That same day, she called Mazahir Panahov, who told her that she should keep silent.

‘But I could not be silenced. I never spoke about our relationship with Mazahir muallim [an Azerbaijani title showing respect], only with [Mahammad’s] mother, and she, every time, repeated that “everything will pass, after the child, he will change”, but I lost my unborn child at seven months after the beating’, she told OC Media.

The incident reportedly occurred before the couple moved to Los Angeles.

‘I was seven months pregnant. I was beaten, and my husband cut my hand. And I was taken to the clinic by [my sister-in-law] Ulkar Panahova and Central Election Commission employees’.

‘I gave birth to a seven-month-old child in the Baku Medical Plaza. The child lived only three days and died’, H.P. added, claiming that Ulkar Panahova and the CEC employees took all the medical documentation, leading the birth to remain unregistered.

OC Media reached out to CEC spokesperson Shahin Asadli to ask why CEC employees had been present at the hospital, but have not received a response.

H.P. said that despite her husband’s abuse, she decided to resettle with him in the US as she was promised they would live with a CEC employee. She did not provide any details regarding the CEC employee’s name or position.

Once in the US, she said she tried to go to the hospital, but was warned that the police would arrest Mahammad Panahov.

‘After that, I thought it would become a political issue, because in Los Angeles, there are many Armenians. There are Armenians everywhere. If I would apply to the police or a hospital, it would immediately turn into political news, where Mazahir Panahov’s son was detained for domestic violence’.

H.P. told OC Media that she would never have spoken out publicly about the domestic violence if a divorce had been easy to obtain.

After she applied for a divorce, she claimed Mahammad Panahov threatened her.

In May 2024, she returned to Azerbaijan where she officially filed for divorce, while her husband remained in the US.

Mazahir Panahov and the CEC have not yet commented on the situation, despite signs pro-government media are publicising the case to force Mazahir Panahov to resign.

A similar tactic was used against former Labour Minister Fizuli Alakbarov in 2013. At the time, a conflict arose between Alakbarov’s son and residents in Azerbaijan’s Ismayilli district after he brought women to a hotel and insulted the local residents. Following the publication of the incident across pro-government channels, Alakbarov resigned.

Challenging the system in Azerbaijan’s parliamentary election

Few doubt the results of Azerbaijan’s parliamentary elections, due to held on 1 September. But despite this, some independent candidates are still trying to challenge the system. ‘Today, one of my observers, [Gular Farajova], was summoned to the police station for questioning’. This was posted by Vafa Naghi, who is running as an independent candidate in the Neftchala constituency, on her social media on Friday. Naghi says Farajova was summoned by the police based on a complaint by a member

OC MediaAytan Farhadova