used to justify further human rights abuses. The government attempted to reintroduce the death penalty. In Indonesia, police killings of suspected drug dealers rose sharply. Australia continued to pay lip service to human rights while subjecting asylum-seekers and refugees to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Governments in Southeast Asia and the Pacific failed to uphold economic, social and cultural rights. Villagers in Laos were forced to relocate due to development projects; the right to adequate housing in Cambodia was undermined by land grabbing; and housing conditions for foreign workers in Singapore were criticized as poor by NGOs. National elections were held in Papua New Guinea, amid allegations of corruption and heavyhanded actions by the authorities, including violence and arbitrary arrests. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS Human rights defenders, peaceful political activists and religious followers were subjected to violations including arbitrary detention; they faced vaguely worded charges; and they were tried in trials that did not meet internationally defined standards of fairness. Prisoners of conscience were tortured and otherwise ill-treated. In Cambodia, the government’s relentless crackdown on civil society and political activists intensified ahead of a general election scheduled for 2018. Human rights defenders were monitored, arrested and imprisoned; media outlets were shut; harassment of civil society through misuse of the criminal justice system escalated; and an amendment to existing legislation provided the authorities with additional powers over political parties. The judiciary was used as a political tool to silence dissent, and in a blatant act of political repression the Supreme Court ruled to dissolve the main opposition party ahead of the election. Thailand’s military government continued its systematic suppression of dissent, preventing people from speaking or assembling peacefully, and criminalizing and targeting civil society. Dozens of human rights defenders, pro-democracy activists and others faced investigation and prosecution under draconian laws and decrees, many facing lengthy, unfair proceedings before military courts. An ongoing crackdown on civil and political rights by Malaysia’s government included harassment, detention and prosecution of critics through the use of restrictive laws; an increase in open-ended, arbitrary travel bans that violated human rights defenders’ freedom of movement; and the arrest and investigation of Indigenous rights activists and journalists for peacefully demonstrating against abuses. Fiji’s government used restrictive legislation to stifle the media and curtail freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Charges against staff members of the Fiji Times were changed to sedition, in a politically motivated move designed to silence one of the country’s few remaining independent media outlets. Amendments to Singapore’s Public Order Act gave the authorities greater powers to restrict or ban public assemblies, and human rights defenders were investigated by police for taking part in peaceful protests. Charges were brought against lawyers and academics who criticized the judiciary, and restrictions placed on media freedom. In Laos, the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly remained severely curtailed and criminal code provisions were used to imprison peaceful activists. A crackdown on dissent in Viet Nam intensified, forcing numerous activists to flee the country. Erosion of the space for a free press increased in Myanmar, where journalists and other media workers faced intimidation and at times arrest, detention and prosecution in connection with their work. 42 Amnesty International Report 2017/18