The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) cancelled its observation mission in the parliamentary elections of Azerbaijan on November 1, since the government limited the recommended number of election monitors, the subsequent U.S. Department of State annual report on Human Right Practices in Azerbaijan says.

According to the report, without ODIHR observation, it was impossible to fully assess the process of the Parliamentary election. “Independent local and international monitors alleged irregularities throughout the country. The 2013 presidential election did not meet a number of key OSCE standards for democratic elections,” the report reads.

The document also mentions that the violence along the Line of Contact and the Armenia-Azerbaijan border increased. “Military actions throughout the year resulted in the highest number of deaths in one year since the signing of the 1994 ceasefire agreement,” the report says.  

Besides, the reporte points out to the following most significant human rights problems in Azerbaijan during the year:

“1. Increased government restrictions on freedoms of expression, assembly, and association that were reflected in the intimidation, incarceration on questionable charges, and use of force against human rights defenders, activists, journalists, and some of their relatives. The operating space for activists and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) remained severely constrained. Multiple sources reported a continuing crackdown on civil society, including intimidation, arrest, and conviction on charges widely considered politically motivated; criminal investigations into NGO activities; restrictive laws; and the freezing of bank accounts that rendered many groups unable to function.

2. Government use of the judicial system to punish peaceful dissent. There were reports that authorities engaged in arbitrary arrest and detention and politically motivated imprisonment, conducted trials that lacked due process, and subjected individuals to lengthy pretrial detention with impunity. The number of defense lawyers willing and able to accept sensitive cases declined due to actions by authorities. Authorities released some individuals widely considered to be incarcerated for exercising their fundamental freedoms, and granted conditional humanitarian release to two such individuals.

3. Government restrictions on the ability of citizens to change their government in free and fair elections.”

As per the report, the Azerbaijani government did not take measured to prosecute or punish most officials who committed human rights abuses, impunity remaining a problem in that country.