arbitrary detention of journalists, whistle-blowers and others who criticize the authorities online. The law allowed for prison sentences and up to 25 years’ hard labour for anyone deemed to have disturbed “public order”, “national unity” or “social peace”. Several Palestinian journalists and human rights defenders were charged under the law. Jordan continued to block access to certain websites, including online forums. Oman blocked the online publication of Mowaten newspaper, and the effect of trials against Azamn newspaper and some of its journalists continued to reverberate following its publication in 2016 of allegations of corruption in the government and the judiciary. In Iran, judicial officials attempted to block the popular messaging application Telegram, but failed because of opposition from the government; other popular social media websites including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were still blocked. GULF POLITICAL CRISIS The political crisis in the Gulf triggered in June, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar and accused it of financing and harbouring terrorists and interfering in the domestic affairs of its neighbours, had an impact beyond the paralysis of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE announced that they would treat criticism of the measures taken against Qatar, or sympathy with Qatar or its people, as a criminal offence, punishable by a prison term. CIVIL SOCIETY FIGHT-BACK Civil society did, however, make significant efforts to stem the tide of measures attempting to restrict freedom of expression. In Tunisia, activists put the brakes on a new bill that could bolster impunity for security forces by criminalizing criticism of police conduct and granting officers immunity from prosecution for unnecessary use of lethal force. In Palestine, the authorities agreed to amend the Electronic Crimes Law following huge pressure from civil society. FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS Armed groups targeted religious minorities in several countries. The armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) and other armed groups killed and injured scores of civilians across Iraq and Syria in suicide bombings and other deadly attacks that targeted Shi’a religious shrines and other public spaces in predominantly Shi’a neighbourhoods. The UN reported in January that nearly 2,000 Yazidi women and children remained in IS captivity in Iraq and Syria. They were enslaved and subjected to rape, beatings and other torture. In Egypt, IS claimed responsibility for the bombing of two churches which left at least 44 dead in April, and unidentified militants launched a bomb and gun attack at a mosque in North Sinai during Friday prayers in November, killing more than 300 Sufi Muslim worshippers – the deadliest attack by an armed group in Egypt since 2011. In Yemen, the Huthis and their allies subjected members of the Baha’i community to arbitrary arrest and detention. RESTRICTIONS BY GOVERNMENTS In Algeria, the authorities were engaged in a new clampdown against the Ahmadi religious movement; during the year more than 280 Ahmadis were prosecuted because of their religious beliefs and practices. Amnesty International Report 2017/18 57