FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND ASSEMBLY Reports of unnecessary and excessive use of force by security forces in the context of public protests continued. On 16 January, the social leader Milagro Sala was arrested and charged for protesting peacefully in Jujuy in December 2015. Despite her release being ordered in this case, further criminal proceedings were then initiated against her in order to keep her in detention. In October the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that her detention was arbitrary and asked for her immediate release. On 17 February, the “Protocol on State Security Force Conduct during Public Protests” was published, issued by the National Ministry of Security, stating that forces should repress and the justice system criminally prosecute those exercising their right to peaceful assembly. On 31 March, the Buenos Aires Public Prosecutor’s Office issued judgment FG N 25/2016, which led to serious risks of undue restriction on the right to peaceful assembly. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS The human rights defender Rubén Ortiz was threatened and intimidated over his support for the rights of peasant farmer (campesino) communities in the Province of Misiones. An investigation process was ongoing at the end of the year. TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT The National Committee for the Prevention of Torture had not been established by the end of the year, despite government regulation of the National System for the Prevention of Torture, comprising legislators, government authorities and representatives of civil society organizations. The duties of the Committee included visits to detention centres, prevention of prison overpopulation and regulations on transfers. 70 ARMENIA Republic of Armenia Head of state: Serzh Sargsyan Head of government: Karen Karapetyan (replaced Hovik Abrahamyan in September) Police used excessive force to suppress largely peaceful demonstrations in the capital, Yerevan, in July. Hundreds of individuals were arbitrarily arrested. Many reported being injured, beaten or otherwise ill-treated during the arrest and while in detention. BACKGROUND The year was marked by economic and political volatility, and growing security concerns linked to the outbreak of large-scale military confrontation in April in NagornoKarabakh, the breakaway region of Azerbaijan supported by Armenia. On 8 September, Prime Minister Abrahamyan resigned, citing his government’s failure to address economic and political challenges. On 13 September, President Sargsyan appointed former Yerevan Mayor Karen Karapetyan as the new Prime Minister. EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE On 17 July a group of armed men stormed a police compound in the Erebuni district of Yerevan, killing one police officer, injuring two and taking several as hostages. Following the seizure of the compound, hundreds gathered at the Liberty Square to show solidarity with the gunmen and join their calls for the release of the imprisoned opposition activist Jirair Sefilian – who had been charged with illegal arms possession – and to call for the resignation of the President. A two-week-long standoff with police sparked widespread anti-government protests in Yerevan, resulting in several clashes with the police. The protests took place daily and dwindled after the hostagetakers surrendered on 30 July. While police allowed peaceful gatherings in most instances, they regularly detained protesters Amnesty International Report 2016/17