An Azerbaijani court has reportedly ordered that the son of the head of the Central Election Commission return his wife’s belongings to her, after she accused him of beating her and filed for divorce.
Mahammad Panahov’s wife, who is identified in court documents only as HP, told OC Media that her husband was refusing to give her her gold jewelry, clothes, and other items she owned from before their marriage.
‘They changed the locks in the villa where I lived to prevent me from taking my things’, she said.
Pro-government media outlet Okhu.az wrote that the value of her belongings amounted to ₼300,000 ($176,000).
During the trial, HP also said she faced insults and blackmail from her husband’s family.
‘Panahov’s sister stated that they rented the gold jewelry to her for the wedding, and that she returned it after three days. Also that I stole other gold items from their house’, she said.
HP told OC Media that Panahov’s family only returned half of the dowry, most of which consisted of old clothes. During the trial, the judge asked why the belongings had not been returned.
‘In other words, this much of the wealth, that much of the estates, that much of the external accounts, how can they rent jewelry to me? The judge even said that I don’t believe that Mazahir Panahov’s son rented a gold jewel to the bride; we don't live in the 90s after all’, she said.
She stressed that the whole court process was prolonged and stressful for her.
‘The first court process was in the Binagadi District Court, which continued for around six months, and the process in the Appellate Court continued for around four months. And they always stated that Mahammad would also join the court process, but he never came. I know he is outside of the country; he lives in California’.
According to HP, in May 2024, after being beaten again by her husband, she decided to run away from home. That same day, she called Mazahir Panahov, chair of the CEC, who told her that she should keep silent.
‘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 alcoholism, they were reliant on money from his father.
The pro-government media outlet Haqqin.az 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.
HP’s lawyer, who wished to remain anonymous due to potential pressure from Panahov, told OC Media that they would rely solely on the court’s decision, but that it seemed Mahammad Panahov did not want the divorce to go through.
Although HP won in court, she told OC Media that she wasn’t happy with the decision because she knows that the Panahov’s family will sue her again.
‘After my public confession, I encountered many women who claimed they also faced domestic violence but kept silent because of the children, because of money. But my family raised me differently’, said HP
She added, ‘I told you, my husband who wounded my hand when I was pregnant and after I lost my unborn child. It was the end of my sixth month of pregnancy. If he were born, he would have been about a year and a half old. And for that, I will never forgive [Panahov’s family]’.
Aytan Farhadova
