many organizers and participants were arrested. In DRC, peaceful protests, particularly those related to the political crisis sparked by delayed elections, were banned and repressed. Civil society organizations, political opposition and Darfuri students in Sudan were prevented from holding events. Use of excessive force and other abuses to disperse peaceful protests resulted in deaths, injuries and unlawful arrests in many countries. In Angola, the few demonstrations that proceeded were met with arbitrary arrests, detention and ill-treatment by police and security forces. Cameroon’s security forces violently repressed demonstrations in Anglophone regions. Kenyan police used excessive force against opposition protesters following the general election – including with live ammunition and tear gas, leaving dozens dead, at least 33 of whom were shot by police, including two children. In Togo, at least 10 people, including three children and two members of the armed forces, were killed during a crackdown by security forces, who frequently beat and fired tear gas and live ammunition at protesters. Sierra Leone’s security forces opened fire on students demonstrating against a lecturers’ strike in the city of Bo, killing one and injuring others. Uganda’s government used raids, arrests, intimidation and harassment to stop peaceful gatherings and silence opposition to an amendment to remove the presidential age limit from the Constitution. ATTACKS ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS, JOURNALISTS AND OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS Widespread repression of dissent also manifested itself through attacks on human rights defenders, civil society organizations, journalists and bloggers. In Cameroon, civil society activists, journalists, trade unionists and teachers were arbitrarily arrested, and some faced military court trials. The government banned the activities of political parties and civil society organizations. Many remained in detention on spurious charges relating to national security. Chad’s authorities arrested and prosecuted human rights defenders, activists and journalists to silence criticism of the government, including in response to rising anger at the economic crisis. In Equatorial Guinea, police detained activists, highlighting the authorities’ willingness to abuse laws to intimidate and silence dissent. In Eritrea, thousands of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners were detained without charge or access to lawyers or family members, many having been held for over 10 years. In Ethiopia, arbitrary detentions continued under the state of emergency declaration, until it was lifted in June. The government ordered the release of 10,000 of the 26,000 detained in 2016 under the declaration. Meanwhile, hundreds were detained under the draconian AntiTerrorism Proclamation, often used to target government critics. In Mauritania, Mohamed Mkhaïtir, a blogger accused of apostasy, had his death sentence commuted but remained in detention even after he had served his sentence. Meanwhile two anti-slavery activists remained in jail. The authorities in Madagascar intimidated and harassed journalists and human rights defenders in an attempt to silence them. Those daring to speak out against illegal trafficking and exploitation of natural resources were increasingly targeted through the use of criminal charges. Sudan’s government persisted in stifling dissent, with opposition political party members, trade union activists, human rights defenders and students increasingly targeted by the security forces; they faced arbitrary arrests and detention on trumped-up charges, and routine torture and other ill-treatment. Amnesty International Report 2017/18 19