rights defenders, journalists, political and religious leaders continue to be arbitrarily detained”. Some released prisoners of conscience, including journalist Khadija Ismayilova and human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, were banned from travelling abroad; most were effectively barred from continuing their work. The criminal cases opened in 2014 and 2015 against a group of prominent NGOs, which were used as a pretext to arrest several prisoners of conscience for tax evasion and fraud, remained open at the end of the year. On 10 May, youth activists Giyas Ibrahimov and Bayram Mammadov were detained on trumped-up drug-related charges after they painted political graffiti on a statue of Azerbaijan’s former President Heydar Aliyev. They were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on 25 October and 8 December respectively. On 18 November, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal by prisoner of conscience Ilgar Mammadov, upholding his seven-year prison sentence. The sentence was upheld despite a European Court of Human Rights ruling that found Ilgar Mammadov had been arrested without any evidence, and repeated calls by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for his release. At the end of the year, at least 14 prisoners of conscience remained in prison. Local human rights activists estimated that more than 100 people remained imprisoned on politically motivated charges. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION All mainstream media remained under government control; independent outlets continued to come under pressure from the authorities. Independent journalists faced intimidation, harassment and physical violence in connection with reporting that criticized the authorities. On 20 April, the authorities launched a criminal investigation into Meydan TV, an internet-based, independent Azeri-language media outlet, alleging illegal entrepreneurship, large-scale tax evasion and abuse of power. Fifteen Meydan TV Amnesty International Report 2016/17 journalists, some reporting from abroad, were also under investigation. Those working in Azerbaijan received travel restrictions prohibiting them from leaving the country. The criminal investigations against them were ongoing at the end of the year. In November, Afgan Sadykhov and Teymur Kerimov, two journalists reporting on social issues, were detained and charged with assault after they were attacked by unidentified persons. Zamin Gadji, a journalist with the opposition newspaper Yeni Musavat, was summoned and threatened by police at Baku police station on 28 November over a Facebook post criticizing the government’s failure to investigate high-profile murder cases. On 29 November, Parliament approved amendments to the Criminal Code criminalizing online insults against the honour and dignity of the President. The new law provided for fines and imprisonment for up to three years. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION Most of the leading Azerbaijani human rights NGOs were unable to resume their work following the freezing of their assets and ongoing harassment of their members, including criminal prosecution. Several NGO leaders convicted of trumped-up charges remained in prison; others were forced into exile for fear of persecution. Early in the year, the government unfroze the bank accounts of eight NGOs involved in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international group promoting open and accountable management of extractive resources. The decision came after the EITI downgraded Azerbaijan’s membership to a Candidate country in 2015 due to the government crackdown on civil society. FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY Police continued to suppress and disperse peaceful protests using excessive force. During nationwide demonstrations in January, in at least two instances police used 75