the loss of access to their orchards, pasture and farm land. RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE The new Constitution restricted the definition of marriage from “a voluntary union based on equality between the spouses” to “a union between a man and a woman”. Same-sex couples were not legally recognized. On 25 August, police arrested two LGBTI activists after a violent incident at a nightclub in Batumi, the second largest city. The activists questioned why they, the targets of violence, were arrested and charged with “disorderly conduct” and not their assailants, and complained of beating and verbal abuse by police. An investigation was opened into their complaint and was ongoing at the end of the year. REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS On 24 May, Mustafa Çabuk – a Turkish national resident in Georgia since 2002 – was detained under an extradition request from Turkey which claimed that he was “supporting terrorism” and had links with the Fethullah Gülen movement. Mustafa Çabuk was at real risk of torture and other illtreatment if returned to Turkey. His application for refugee status in Georgia was rejected. Appeals were made against the decision; Mustafa Çabuk continued to be held in pre-extradition detention at the end of the year. WORKERS’ RIGHTS Throughout the year, more than a dozen cases of fatal occupational accidents were reported, particularly among miners and construction workers. The need for stricter regulations and their effective monitoring by an independent labour standards regulatory authority remained. Amnesty International Report 2017/18 GERMANY Federal Republic of Germany Head of state: Frank-Walter Steinmeier (replaced Joachim Gauck in March) Head of government: Angela Merkel Parliament passed a law granting same-sex couples the right to marry. The authorities continued to deport to Afghanistan asylumseekers whose applications had failed despite the worsening security situation in the country. The federal Parliament extended police powers to conduct surveillance measures and to impose administrative measures on individuals identified as “potential attackers”. INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE In March, September and November, 22 Syrian nationals residing in Germany submitted four criminal complaints to the office of the Federal Prosecutor General against 27 Syrian officials working for the military police and different intelligence services for their alleged involvement in torture as a war crime and a crime against humanity. The alleged crimes were committed in Saydnaya and other military prisons and in prisons of the Air Force Intelligence in Damascus and other places in Syria. In May, the Federal Prosecutor General carried out hearings with Syrian witnesses. Investigations were ongoing at the end of the year. COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY In April, the federal Parliament passed an amendment that expanded the control powers of the Federal Criminal Police to impose administrative measures for “potential attackers”, such as electronic ankle tagging, assigned residency and telecommunication surveillance. These “potential attackers” were vaguely defined as “individuals who could be involved in committing a terrorism-related offence in the future”. 173