in place to help asylum-seekers and refugees access basic rights such as education, work, health care and language training. �� Despite Argentina’s commitment in 2016 to receive 3,000 Syrian refugees, no resettlement programme had been created. Fewer than 400 Syrian refugees had benefited from a private sponsorship and humanitarian visa scheme. IMPUNITY Trials before ordinary civilian courts continued to be held for crimes against humanity during the 1976-1983 military regime. Between 2006 and May 2017, 182 rulings were issued, bringing the total number of convictions to 756 and acquittals to 74. In July, the Federal Court of Mendoza issued a historic decision under which four former members of the judiciary were sentenced to life in prison and barred from holding public office for contributing to the commission of crimes against humanity during the military regime. The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Luis Muiña – who was found guilty of crimes against humanity – that one day served in pre-trial detention must be considered as two, if the person has been detained without sentence for more than two years. Congress then passed a law clarifying that the so-called “2x1 formula” may not be applied to crimes against humanity, genocide or war crimes.2 Public hearings continued in the case of the cover-up of the investigation into the 1994 attack on the Jewish Mutual Association of Argentina building. A government decree issued in April 2017 transferred classified documents from the Prosecution Unit to the Ministry of Justice, compromising the independence of the investigation and restricting complainants’ access to evidence. police; some said they were forced to undress completely. In April, teachers were violently repressed while demonstrating for fair wages. Participants reported that police used tear gas and beat them while the military stood by. At least four teachers were arrested. In September, 31 people were violently detained and held at several police stations in the capital, Buenos Aires, for more than 48 hours for participating in a mass demonstration following the disappearance of Santiago Maldonado. Those detained reported that they were beaten and some women were forced to undress. In December, many protesters took to the streets in Buenos Aires to express their disagreement with a legislative reform proposed by the government. The police used excessive force and there were reports of arbitrary detentions during the demonstrations.3 The call by WGAD to national authorities to immediately release social leader and activist Milagro Sala was not implemented. In August, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights requested that Argentina offer Milagro Sala house arrest or other alternatives to prison. This request was only partially implemented since its conditions did not comply with domestic and international standards. 1. Argentina: Violent repression of Mapuche Peoples (AMR 13/5477/2017) 2. Argentina: Amnistía Internacional repudia la aplicación del 2x1 a delitos de lesa humanidad y estará presente en Plaza de Mayo (News story, 9 May) 3. Argentina: Autoridades deben garantizar protesta pacífica e investigar violaciones a derechos humanos tras represión frente al Congreso de la Nación (News story, 15 December) FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND ASSEMBLY Indiscriminate detentions took place during an International Women’s Day demonstration on 8 March. Many women reported that they were mistreated, detained and humiliated by Amnesty International Report 2017/18 77