DETENTION Prisons continued to be overcrowded, facilities dilapidated and there was insufficient access to basic services. Several hundred offenders with mental health problems or mental disabilities remained in detention in regular prisons with insufficient health care and treatment. In May, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that the conditions of detention of two detainees in two different prisons amounted to inhuman or degrading treatment. In July, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture raised concerns regarding the consequences of the repeated strikes by prison officials in recent years which worsened the poor detention conditions. In September, the ECtHR ruled that Belgium had violated the right to life of Michael Tekin, an offender with a mental health problem who died in custody in a regular section of Jamioulx prison on 8 August 2009. The Court found that the restraining technique used by three prison officers was unnecessary and disproportionate. REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS The authorities resumed the transfers of asylum-seekers to Greece under the Dublin III Regulation – EU law that determines the EU member state responsible for examining an application for asylum. In November, laws were adopted widening the scope for detention of asylum-seekers and curtailing the right to appeal negative asylum decisions. In September, the government invited a delegation of Sudanese government officials to identify dozens of undocumented Sudanese nationals with the intention of returning them to Sudan. Several judicial proceedings were started challenging forcible returns on the basis of the principle of nonrefoulement – the forcible return of individuals to countries where they risk serious human rights violations. Ten Sudanese nationals were reportedly returned 92 in the context of this operation. In December, testimonies surfaced of returnees who stated that upon return they had been detained by Sudanese government agents, interrogated and subjected to ill-treatment or torture. The government announced an investigation into the allegations. DISCRIMINATION On 14 March, the Court of Justice of the EU failed to uphold Muslim women’s right to non-discrimination by ruling that a private Belgian employer had not breached EU antidiscrimination law in dismissing a woman for wearing a headscarf. RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE On 24 May, Parliament adopted a law allowing transgender people to seek legal gender recognition without imposing on them any psychiatric assessment or sterilization requirements. ARMS TRADE The Walloon regional government continued to license weapon transfers to parties of the Saudi-Arabia-led coalition in Yemen. In June, the Flemish regional Parliament improved the compliance of its legislation with the Arms Trade Treaty by, among other things, amending the legal definition of transit. However, it failed to address the control of the end-use of parts and components that could be used to produce arms. BENIN Republic of Benin Head of state and government: Patrice Athanase Guillaume Talon The authorities continued to restrict the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Fourteen prisoners remained on death row although the death penalty had been abolished. Civil society groups’ access to prisons was restricted. Amnesty International Report 2017/18