WORKERS’ RIGHTS The authorities did not recognize independent trade unions operating outside of the state-controlled Egyptian Trade Union Federation. This was reflected in a new draft labour law which tightened central control on unions. A military court unfairly tried 26 civilian workers at Alexandria Shipyard Company for striking. Egyptian human rights organizations repeatedly warned that the government was not doing enough to ensure that its economic policies, including subsidy reform and currency devaluation, as well as proposed reforms to the civil service law, did not negatively affect people on lower incomes and those living in poverty. DEATH PENALTY Criminal courts continued to hand down death sentences for murder, rape, drugs trafficking, armed robbery and “terrorism”. People were executed for murder and other criminal offences. The Court of Cassation overturned some death sentences and referred cases for retrial, including a death sentence against ousted president Mohamed Morsi and at least one case of a mass unfair trial linked to the 2013 unrest. Military courts handed down death sentences against civilians following grossly unfair trials marred by enforced disappearances and torture and other illtreatment. On 29 May a military court sentenced six civilian men to death and 12 civilian men to prison sentences of 15 to 25 years on charges of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, obtaining classified information and possessing firearms and explosives. The court ignored the men’s complaints of torture and other ill-treatment, as well as evidence that security forces had subjected them to enforced disappearance following their arrests in May and June 2015. The court also sentenced two other men to death and six to 25-year prison terms in their absence. The 150 detainees were appealing the judgment before a higher military court. 1. Egypt: ‘Officially, you do not exist’ – disappeared and tortured in the name of counter-terrorism (MDE 12/4368/2016) EL SALVADOR Republic of El Salvador Head of state and government: Salvador Sánchez Cerén Increasing levels of violence continued to affect people’s rights to life, physical integrity, education and freedom of movement. There were reports of excessive use of force by the security forces and of a surge in asylum applications by Salvadorans in various countries in the region. A total ban on abortion threatened women’s rights. However, a proposal to decriminalize abortion in certain specific circumstances was before the Legislative Assembly at the end of the year. A human rights defender was tried on charges of slander and defamation. The Supreme Court declared the 1993 Amnesty Law unconstitutional. Impunity for violence and other crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people persisted. BACKGROUND Levels of violence and other crimes, primarily resulting from gang activity, continued to ravage the country, with 3,438 homicides reported in the first six months of the year; the equivalent figure for 2015 was 3,335. The press also reported sexual violence against women and girls by gang members. In April, the authorities approved a series of “extraordinary measures” to try to stem the wave of violence afflicting the country, including legal reforms to introduce stricter prison regimes and the creation of a specialized reaction force of 1,000 police and military personnel to combat criminal gangs. Critics raised concerns that the use of the military in public security operations could Amnesty International Report 2016/17