AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

In June, an intersex person filed a
complaint following the refusal by the civil
registry office in Steyr to register their gender
as neutral (neither male nor female). The
case was pending before the Administrative
Court of Upper Austria at the end of the year.
In August, several authorities, including
the Federal Chancellor, expressed support for
the right of same-sex couples to marry.
However, no legislative amendments were
tabled to this effect.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In July, the Police State Protection Act
entered into force. The new legislation grants
far-reaching surveillance and investigative
powers to the domestic intelligence agency,
the Federal Office for the Protection of the
Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism.
In particular, the Office can collect and store
personal data from a wide variety of sources
and launch investigations without informing
the affected individuals. The lack of judicial
oversight and the discretion with which the
Office can exercise its powers raised
concerns regarding the respect of the rights
to privacy and to an effective remedy, among
others.
AZERBAIJAN
Republic of Azerbaijan
Head of state: Ilham Aliyev
Head of government: Artur Rasizade
Some prisoners of conscience were
released, but at least 14 remained in
prison. Most human rights organizations
forced to suspend their activities in
previous years were unable to resume their
work. Reprisals against independent
journalists and activists persisted.
International human rights monitors were
denied access to Azerbaijan. Torture and
other ill-treatment was widely reported, as
well as arbitrary arrests of government
critics.
BACKGROUND
Azerbaijan’s oil-dependent economy was
deeply affected by falling oil prices and the
decline of its currency, the manat, by half of
its value. Food prices rose without an
equivalent rise in wages. From early January,
spontaneous, and in most cases peaceful,
protests against the devaluation of the manat
and consequent price hikes spread across
the country. The protests were clamped down
on by police and security forces. On
18 January, President Aliyev signed a decree
increasing the minimum pension and salaries
of state employees by 10%. The measure
remained insufficient to address the decline
in living standards.
In April, hostilities escalated between
Azerbaijan and the Armenia-backed breakaway
Nagorno-Karabakh region. The fighting
lasted four days and resulted in civilian and
military casualties on both sides and small
territorial gains by Azerbaijani forces.
In September, a referendum approved
proposed amendments to the Constitution,
giving further powers to the President. The
amendments extended the presidential term
and granted the President the authority to
declare early Presidential elections and to
dissolve Parliament.
In November, the EU Council approved a
new mandate for the negotiation of a
“comprehensive” agreement with Azerbaijan
to replace the 1996 Partnership and Cooperation
Agreement (PCA) which governed
EU-Azerbaijan bilateral relations. The political
dialogue under the PCA had been halted in
recent years as Azerbaijan’s human rights
record continued to deteriorate.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Government critics continued to be
incarcerated. In the early part of the year,
several high-profile prisoners convicted
following politically motivated trials were
released, among them at least 12 prisoners
of conscience. None of those released were
cleared of criminal charges. Following its visit
to Azerbaijan in May, the UN Working Group
on Arbitrary Detention noted that “human
74 Amnesty International Report 2016/17