asked him to confess to stealing a motorbike, which he refused to do. He was taken to the gendarmerie base ECO III the next day and beaten with belts. Fearing for his life, Oumar Sylla confessed and signed a statement he said he did not understand. The revised Criminal Code criminalized torture and made it punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment. However, some acts defined as torture under international law, including rape, electric shocks, burns, holding in stress positions, sensory deprivation, mock executions and simulated drowning, were classified as “inhuman and cruel” treatment, for which no penalties were specified. DEATH PENALTY The revised Criminal Code abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. The Military Code of Justice still provided for capital punishment for exceptional crimes, including treason and revolt at time of war or state of emergency. A bill seeking to remove these provisions was pending in the National Assembly. IMPUNITY There was little progress in the trial relating to the massacre in the Grand Stade de Conakry in 2009, when security forces killed more than 100 peaceful demonstrators and injured at least 1,500 others. Dozens of women were raped. None of the members of the security forces suspected of using excessive force against peaceful opposition demonstrators, leading to death and injuries between 2011 and 2016, have been brought to justice.4 There was still no investigation of members of the security forces involved in rape and other forms of torture, systematic pillage and contamination of water in Womey village, Nzérékoré region, in September 2014. No progress was made in the trial of four members of the security forces charged with killing six people during a strike at a mine in Zogota in 2012. The revised Criminal Code contained vague language relating to actions justifiable 176 as “self-defence” as well as a new provision called “state of necessity” that could shield members of the security forces who caused death or injury by using excessive force. WOMEN’S RIGHTS The revised Criminal Code criminalizes early and enforced marriage, raising the legal age for marriage to 18. However, ambiguity remains as the Code refers to “marriage according to custom” for children aged 16. Guinea has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, with three in five girls married before the age of 18, according to the latest study by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). 1. Guinée: Consternation face à la mort d’un homme par balle (News story, 17 August) 2. Guinée: La condamnation de cinq syndicalistes est une violation du droit à la liberté d’expression (News story, 25 March) 3. Guinea: New criminal code drops death penalty but fails to tackle impunity and keeps repressive provisions (News story, 5 July) 4. Guinea: One year on, no justice for election violence (News story, 10 October) GUINEA-BISSAU Republic of Guinea-Bissau Head of state: José Mário Vaz Head of government: Umaro Sissoco Embaló (replaced Baciro Djá in November, who replaced Carlos Correia in May) The continuing political crisis delayed implementation of recommendations of the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of 2015, and hindered economic and social reforms. No progress was made in improving prison conditions. The judiciary did not always follow due process, and was criticized for incompetence and corruption. BACKGROUND In February, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Integrated Peace Building Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) for another year. Amnesty International Report 2016/17