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scarce, and many are reluctant to take on human rights and other sensitive <br />cases for fear of harassment and retribution — including arrest —by the state. <br />Defense attorneys cannot call or question witnesses and are rarely permitted <br />to request leniency for their clients. Police can hold individuals in <br />administrative detention for up to two years on suspicion of threatening <br />national security. The police are known to abuse suspects and prisoners, and <br />prison conditions are poor. Many political prisoners remain behind bars, and <br />political detainees are often held incommunicado. Human rights groups have <br />expressed concern that the bloggers and other online activists arrested in <br />2010 have been beaten and tortured. <br />Ethnic and religious minorities face discrimination in mainstream society, <br />and some local officials restrict their access to schooling and jobs. Minorities <br />generally have little input on development projects that affect their <br />livelihoods and communities. <br />Land disputes have become more frequent as the government seizes <br />property to lease to domestic and foreign investors. Affected residents and <br />farmers rarely find the courts helpful, and their street protests have resulted <br />in harassment and arrests by the state. <br />Although economic opportunities have grown for women, they continue to <br />face discrimination in wages and promotion. Many women are victims of <br />domestic violence, and thousands of women each year are trafficked <br />internally and externally and forced into prostitution. A number of cases of <br />international adoption fraud have been exposed in recent years. <br />R <br />