Peaceful protests calling for the removal of the Ba’th Party Government have been raging across the country since the beginning of the year. Thousands of civilians were killed as a result of the use of excessive and lethal force by the police. Opposition groups established a Transitional National Council in exile in August, while inside the country defections within the army led to the emergence of an armed opposition group. HRDs were the main source of information on grave human rights abuses: dozens were arrested and detained. At least eight HRDs remained in detention at the time of writing on charges of spreading false information or involvement in racial and sectarian acts. It is feared that the authorities may resort to assassinations to punish HRDs for monitoring and reporting human rights abuses. Many of them received death threats. In October, a prominent opposition figure was murdered. HRDs also continued to suffer travel bans and other restrictions on their movement despite a presidential decree in March ordering the lifting of previously imposed restrictions. A number of HRDs had their homes raided, their families intimidated, and were forced to leave the country or go into hiding. Abdulkarim Rihawi, held incommunicado for 11 days in August and tortured, went into exile upon his release to escape further persecution. Razan Zaytouneh, winner of the 2011 Sakharov Prize and Anna Politkovskaya Award, was forced to go into hiding to escape arrest: her home was stormed and her husband and brother-in-law were detained for several weeks. Four prominent human rights defenders were released from jail. Anwar Al-Bunni, a Front Line Award winner, Muhannad Al-Hassani, a Martin Annals Award winner, and Kamal Labwani were released in May, June and November respectively, after serving prison sentences imposed after unfair trials. Haytham Al Maleh was released in March following a Presidential amnesty.