From October to the end of the year, In September, Bitcoin, one of the world's authorities forcibly returned 40 Eritrean most popular cryptocurrencies, was adopted nationals, detained since October 2019, to as legal tender without any public Eritrea without allowing them to challenge the consultation. The same month, the decision to remove them or access asylum Constitutional Chamber of El Salvador's procedures. Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing the country's presidents to stand for immediate 1. Egypt: “This Will Only End When You Die”: National Security Agency re-election, giving the green light to the Harassment of Activists in Egypt (Index: MDE 12/4665/2021), 16 current president, Nayib Bukele, to stand for September a possible second term. 2. “Egypt: Stop trials by emergency courts", 31 October There were mass demonstrations against a 3. Egypt: “What Do I Care if You Die?”: Negligence and Denial of Health variety of state policies from September Care in Egyptian Prisons (Index: MDE 12/3538/2021), 25 January onwards. In response, in September, 4. “Egypt: Retry 36 men facing execution following unfair trials by President Bukele sought to publicly discredit emergency courts”, 8 November the demonstrations and threatened that tear 5. “Egypt: Authorities fail to protect striking workers from reprisals”, 25 gas could be used against demonstrators in November future. 6. “Egypt: Haphazard and flawed Covid-19 vaccine roll-out fails to prioritize most at-risk", 29 June FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Journalists and media outlets reported further attacks on media freedom, including an EL SALVADOR upsurge in public unfounded accusations against them; obstacles in carrying out their Republic of El Salvador work, including in accessing public Head of state and government: Nayib Armando Bukele information; and the refusal of high-ranking Ortez officials to answer questions.1 In February, the Inter-American Commission The erosion of human rights in El Salvador on Human Rights (IACHR) granted intensified. An upsurge of attacks and precautionary measures in favour of 34 staff obstacles targeting the independent media members of the digital newspaper El Faro. was reported and human rights The IACHR stated that the information organizations were publicly stigmatized by received suggested that the harassment, high-ranking government officials, including threats and intimidation they reported the president. The rights of the victims of experiencing were intended not only to crimes under international law committed intimidate them but also to prevent them during the internal armed conflict from going about their work as journalists. (1980-1992) remained unfulfilled. A total In June, the minister of justice and public ban on abortion remained in place. security stated that some media publications BACKGROUND were apologists for crime and said that the authorities were “following up on many The ruling party and its allies secured a journalists”. According to media reports, in majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly October the vice-president stated publicly in elections held in February. that some journalists should be prosecuted An OAS Electoral Observation Mission for slander. reported the use of state institutions to During September, the Roundtable for the publicly promote the government's Protection of Journalists reported that administration even during the period of employees of the Legislative Assembly, high- electoral silence provided for in law. The level public officials and even President Mission also received complaints about the Bukele had intensified their attacks, threats use of public resources to influence voters. and smears against journalists. In addition, Amnesty International Report 2021/22 157