Azerbaijan: crime without punishment. Whose hands hold fate of 13-year-old girl?
13-year-old girl married off in Azerbaijan
The issue of child marriage and sexual exploitation of minors has once again sparked public outcry in Azerbaijan. One such case occurred recently in the city of Aghjabedi, where a man born in 2001 was tried for sexually abusing a girl born in 2010.
Independent journalists discovered the case after finding a March 12 ruling by the Lankaran Serious Crimes Court on a public judicial decisions website. The defendant was charged under Article 152.4.1 of the Criminal Code — “repeated sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16.”
The court found that the incident took place in May 2024. The accused was handed a six-year suspended sentence with a one-year probation period and was released under police supervision. He justified his actions by claiming he had feelings for the girl and intended to marry her.
It emerged that the girl’s family had approved the relationship and hosted an engagement at their home. After the girl became pregnant, both families organised a wedding.
Human rights activist Gulnara Mehtiyeva told JAMnews that these facts represent a gross violation of the child’s rights. But she believes punishing the man alone is not enough.
“This is not an isolated incident, but a systemic problem. The state must go beyond punishment and introduce programmes aimed at educating minors and expanding their opportunities,” Mehtiyeva said.
Lawyer Samed Rahimli told JAMnews that under the family code, a 13-year-old cannot perform parental duties. “In such cases, the parents should also be held accountable, as they essentially allowed their child to become a victim of a crime,” Rahimli said.
Officials have so far declined to comment.
Statistics also show that the problem goes far beyond a single case. According to official data, in 2023, girls aged 15–17 in Azerbaijan gave birth to 1,742 children.
Among them, 103 girls had a second child, 11 had a third, and four girls had already given birth to their fourth child by that age.
These figures highlight the scale of child marriage and the reproductive exploitation of minors in Azerbaijan. Experts say tackling the issue requires action in two key areas:
- Preventing minors from dropping out of education and expanding educational and social opportunities in the regions;
- Protecting the rights of affected children through state care and holding parents accountable.
Gulnara Mehtiyeva: “The state’s responsibilities go beyond punitive measures”
Human rights defender Gulnara Mekhtiyeva: “State agencies responsible for investigating and preventing such cases prefer to stay silent or make absurd statements.”
Public outrage has erupted over the impunity granted to a man who had sexual relations with a 13-year-old child, resulting in her pregnancy. Mekhtiyeva stresses that punishment should not only be imposed on the man but also on the parents who arranged the so-called “wedding.”
However, she warns against reducing the state’s role to punitive measures alone. “Because we expect only punishment, each time a crime occurs, the state considers its repressive duty fulfilled by arresting or firing someone, then withdraws,” she says.
This approach has become so common that a nickname has even emerged for scapegoated officials – they’re called “building managers,” meaning low-level staff blamed for disasters like fires, accidents, or building collapses while the true culprits escape unscathed.
“For instance,” Mekhtiyeva recalls, “when 18 people were recently poisoned by alcohol, authorities arrested a factory packer while the factory director went unpunished.”
“In this case too, only the headteacher of the school attended by the 13-year-old girl was dismissed.”
“People ask: ‘If this man is jailed, who will care for the baby? If he can’t find work after prison, how will he pay child support?’ This shows how little the state cares for its citizens – so much so that people have forgotten how it should be.”
Gulnara Mekhtiyeva: “The state must protect the child – even from their own parents – and take them under its care”
“Azerbaijani society and the state must take more decisive steps to safeguard children’s rights,” says human rights defender Gulnara Mekhtiyeva.
She argues that beyond punishment, action must be taken in two directions:
- Preventing such situations from arising;
- Ensuring the wellbeing of victims.
“For example,” she asks, “has anyone studied why underage girls in rural areas are being married off instead of receiving an education? What drives parents to take this step? What is being done to promote education in the regions?”
“What language classes, sports or swimming centres are available in villages to support girls’ personal development? What financial resources do parents have to access these services?”
“If in some places there aren’t even roads to get children to school, what alternatives do they have beyond early marriage? And that’s only a small fraction of the questions we should be asking.”
She continues: “The second issue is that the crime has already occurred. If the perpetrators are punished, the children may be left without guardianship. If they aren’t punished, other families will follow suit to avoid accountability.”
“The solution,” Mekhtiyeva concludes, “is for the state, when necessary, to protect the child even from their own parents and to take them into state care. A 13-year-old should be provided with conditions to continue her education, and after coming of age – with opportunities for employment and professional growth.”
Gulnara Mekhtiyeva: “Family consent means the child will continue to be subjected to sexual abuse”
“All these measures must be implemented with financial support from the state,” says human rights advocate Gulnara Mekhtiyeva. “Of course, the state must also take responsibility for the child born to the underage girl.”
While the headteacher has been punished for “insufficient oversight,” Mekhtiyeva insists the state must compensate for its own negligence by providing sustained support to the victim.
She warns that the perpetrator feels so emboldened that he openly declares he is simply waiting for the girl to turn 18 so he can marry her officially.
“There are still several years until she comes of age, yet he has already decided that this child belongs to him, that she will be his wife. What kind of lawlessness is this?”
This legitimisation – including by the girl’s own family – means that the child may continue to face sexual abuse and even give birth again.
“They are stealing, before our very eyes, the childhood, youth, and future of these girls,” Mekhtiyeva says.
Samed Rahimli: “The victim’s family must not be exempt from responsibility”
Co-founder of the “Third Republic” platform and lawyer Samed Rahimli has called the case and the surrounding developments “a disgrace to the state.”
“Firstly,” he states, “under the Family Code, a 13-year-old child, even if she has become a mother, cannot fulfil parental responsibilities.”
“Secondly, the victim’s family should be stripped of their parental rights, as they consciously committed a crime against the child. If, in court, they claimed they had no complaints against the perpetrator, they should be held criminally liable under the relevant article of the Criminal Code for turning a blind eye to the sexual abuse of their child.”
Rahimli says the incident in Aghjabedi – involving the forced engagement or marriage of a minor and the birth of a child to an underage mother – provides ample grounds to terminate the parents’ custody rights.
“Once parental rights are removed, the child must be placed under the care of a state institution. The underage girl should either live in a social care facility or be placed in another family. Her child, too, should come under state guardianship.”
“Normally, custody is granted to relatives,” Rahimli adds, “but in this case, they were complicit with the parents, so full responsibility lies with the state.”
He also stresses that the underage mother, as a survivor of abuse, must receive psychological support. “Any decisions about her future relationship with the baby must be made with the involvement of mental health professionals,” he concludes.
Samed Rahimli: “Instead of solving the problem of child marriage, the state offers ‘alternative solutions’”
“The authorities are making deals with families: they propose that parents limit themselves to an engagement for their daughters aged 13 to 17, and not hold a wedding until the girl turns 18.
Allowing such weddings would be an international disgrace for the country. So the authorities use these tactics to avoid that shame.
But if the victim, with the state’s approval, remains in the house of her abuser — that is a complete disgrace for the state. In effect, it means the state is sanctioning a marriage that is banned by law.
The perpetrator received only a mild sentence, no action was taken against his family, and the 13-year-old victim was left in the care of relatives who have no right to be her guardians. The state had a duty to prevent all of this.
As a result, multiple crimes are being committed, and through their actions, state institutions are effectively giving their consent.
A 13-year-old girl became pregnant, she was subjected to sexual intercourse. And even if it was consensual, it still contradicts the laws of the country. Sex with someone under 18, if the partner is two or more years older, is a crime — this is enshrined in both the Constitution and the law.
And yet the Azerbaijani government tells the world that it is a secular state, not Iran.
In reality, the situation is the opposite. The average Azerbaijani believes that the earlier he marries off his daughter, the better. He thinks that once a girl turns 13 and continues her education, she’ll start making friends, having relationships, and so on. So he tries to marry her off as soon as possible to ‘save’ her from these ‘problems.’
Officials responsible for decision-making hold similar views. That’s why no serious steps are taken against child marriage.”
What is stated in the criminal case materials
Court documents report that in May 2024, the defendant repeatedly engaged in sexual relations with the victim, who was born in 2010. He claimed that the girl herself suggested they have intercourse, saying that if it happened, their families would allow them to start a family.
He told his mother that he loved the girl and intended to marry her. His mother then informed the girl’s mother. Both families agreed that an official marriage would take place when the victim turned 18.
A few months later, they found out that the girl was pregnant. With the consent of both families and in the presence of close relatives, a “wedding” was held.
In the fifth month of pregnancy (October 2024), the victim moved in with the defendant and his family. Later, she was taken to a hospital for a check-up. Five or six days later, police came to their home and arrested the man.
During the preliminary investigation, the victim stated that she had repeatedly engaged in sexual relations with the defendant of her own free will.
The victim’s mother told the court that imprisoning the defendant would not benefit her daughter in any way. The defendant stated that during the trial, he and the victim had a child (born in February 2025), that they lived with his mother, meaning he was responsible for two women and a small child. He argued that his imprisonment would worsen their living conditions and financial situation.
He asked the court to take all these circumstances into account when determining his sentence.
