the brother of disappeared journalist and prodemocracy activist Itai Dzamara, after he held up a placard at an event attended by President Robert Mugabe in Harare. In Uganda, there was a series of attacks on the offices of NGOs and human rights defenders. Continuing lack of accountability for these crimes sent the message that the authorities condoned and tolerated these actions. In one attack, intruders beat a security guard to death. Media houses, journalists and social media users faced increasing challenges in many countries. Zambia’s authorities shut down the independent newspaper The Post in a ploy to silence critical media ahead of the election, also arresting senior staff and their family members. Burundi’s already-decimated civil society and independent media came under increasing attack: journalists, members of social media groups and even schoolchildren were arrested simply for speaking out. In Cameroon, Fomusoh Ivo Feh was sentenced to 10 years in prison for forwarding a sarcastic text message about Boko Haram. In some countries, emerging laws were cause for concern. A draft law under parliamentary consideration in Mauritania restricted the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. In Congo, a law increasing government control over civil society organizations was passed. In Angola, the National Assembly approved five draft bills that will impermissibly restrict the right to freedom of expression. Elsewhere, existing laws such as terrorism and state of emergency laws were used to criminalize peaceful dissent. The Ethiopian government – increasingly intolerant of opposing voices – escalated its crackdown on journalists, human rights defenders and other dissenters by using the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. On the positive side, there were some hopeful signs of judicial activism and courage – even in extremely repressive countries – which challenged governments’ use of the law and judiciary to stifle dissent. In DRC, four pro-democracy activists were released, a rare positive step in a very difficult year for 18 freedom of expression in the country. A landmark court ruling against repressive laws in Swaziland in September was also another victory for human rights. Zimbabwe’s High Court overturned a ban on protests. Although another High Court ruling subsequently made this void, the courageous decision – made after President Mugabe threatened the judiciary – represented a victory in defence of human rights and sent a clear message that the right to protest cannot be stripped away on a whim. In Gambia, more than 40 prisoners of conscience, some of whom had been detained for as long as eight months, were released on bail pending appeal immediately following the elections. POLITICAL REPRESSION 2016 witnessed several contested elections across Africa, characterized by increased repression. In several countries, including in Burundi, Chad, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Gabon, Gambia, Somalia and Uganda, opposition leaders and voices came under severe attack. In one of the most unexpected developments, tens of thousands of Gambians took part in peaceful gatherings ahead of the Presidential elections, although at the end of the year the election results remained contested. The months leading up to the elections were marred by serious violations of citizens’ rights to express themselves freely. Dozens of opposition members were arrested, and two died in custody after being arrested for participating in peaceful protests. Thirty protesters were sentenced to three years in prison for their involvement in peaceful protests, with 14 others awaiting trial. All were released on bail immediately following the elections on 1 December. Despite initially conceding defeat to the opposition leader Adama Barrow, President Yahya Jammeh subsequently challenged the results and remained defiant to domestic and international pressure to hand over power. The Ugandan government undermined the opposition party’s ability to legally challenge the results of February’s elections. Security Amnesty International Report 2016/17