after a new law expanded the jurisdiction of military courts to try crimes committed by military personnel. The military denied using firearms, and did not announce whether it had opened an investigation into the killings. DETENTION The prison system remained overcrowded and prisoners suffered inhuman and degrading conditions. The prison population reached 727,000 people, 55% of whom were aged between 18 and 29 and 64% of whom were Afro-descendant, according to the Ministry of Justice. A significant proportion – 40% nationally – of those imprisoned were in pre-trial detention, where detainees often waited several months to face trial. In January, riots took place in prisons in several states resulting in at least 123 deaths: 64 in Amazonas state; 31 in Roraima; 26 in Rio Grande do Norte; and two in Paraíba.3 In May, 32 people escaped from Pedrinhas prison in Maranhão state; two escapees were killed by prison guards. As a result of extreme overcrowding in prisons in Rio Grande do Sul state, some people detained by police were held for more than 48 hours in unsuitable areas in police stations and cars, while waiting for space in the prison system. In October, a man died after being detained for a day and a night in an outdoor cage-like cell in a police station in Barra do Corda, Maranhão state. The cell had no protection from the sun or extremely high temperatures, leaving detainees at risk of dehydration and other dangerous consequences of exposure. In Rio de Janeiro state, inhumane prison conditions were further degraded by the financial crisis, putting at risk the supply of food, water and medicines for more than 50,800 prisoners. Tuberculosis and skin diseases reached epidemic levels inside the state’s prisons. The 25th anniversary of the Carandiru massacre, in which 111 people were killed by the police in Carandiru prison, São Paulo, was on 2 October. Those responsible for the massacre had yet to be held accountable. 100 FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY On 31 March, thousands of people protested in major cities against proposed reforms to labour laws and social security policies. On 28 April, social movements, students and trade unions called for a “general strike” and tens of thousands of people protested throughout the country after the labour reforms were approved. In many areas, including Rio de Janeiro city, the police used unnecessary and excessive force against peaceful protesters. On 24 May at least 49 people were injured, including eight military police officers and one man who was shot with a firearm, after police used excessive force against protesters in the capital, Brasilia. Tens of thousands of people protested against President Temer in a demonstration that ended in clashes with the police and damage to public buildings. The federal government called in the military to police the area in the following days. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS Human rights defenders, especially those in rural areas, continued to be threatened, attacked and killed. The states of Pará and Maranhão were among those where defenders were at the highest risk. According to the civil society coalition Brazilian Committee for Human Rights Defenders, 62 defenders were killed between January and September, an increase from the previous year. Most were killed in conflicts over land and natural resources. Budget cuts and lack of political will to prioritize the protection of human rights defenders resulted in the dismantling of the National Programme of Protection, leaving hundreds exposed to a higher risk of attacks. LAND DISPUTES On 20 April at least nine men were killed and others injured in Colniza, Mato Grosso state, after gunmen attacked rural workers in the settlement of Taquaruçu do Norte. The decade-long trend of frequent, violent attacks by gunmen hired by large-scale farmers and illegal loggers in the area continued. Amnesty International Report 2017/18