Search Results for “ protest”

Angolan Police Detain, Harass, and Beat Journalists Covering Protests

28 de October de 2020 Committee to Protect Jounalists

New York, October 27, 2020 — Angolan police should stop arresting and assaulting journalists and allow them to do their jobs freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At least six journalists and one media worker were arrested – with four held for more than two days – and another was harassed while covering anti-government protests by civil society groups and opposition parties in the capital, Luanda, on October 24, according to news reports and Teixeira Candido, secretary general of the Union of Angolan Journalists (SJA), who spoke with CPJ via messaging app. All those detained were released without charge, Candido said. “Angolan authorities must stop harassing and detaining journalists who are simply doing their work and must allow them to report freely,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “That three of the detained journalists and a driver were finally released without charge after more than two days in custody shows […]

Human rights

Police Use Lethal Force to Repress Diamond-Area Protest

27 de June de 2017 Maka Angola

Reports from the diamond-rich province of Lunda Norte in north-eastern Angola say police opened fire without warning on peaceful demonstrations by separatists on Sunday, killing one bystander and wounding others. Protest marches in the region had been organized by a banned political organization, the ‘Movimento do Protectorado Lunda-Tchokwé’ (MPL-T, Movement for the Lunda-Tchokwé Protectorate), which advocates independence for the Tchokwé peoples who live in the former ancient kingdom of the Lundas. The separatists have argued for a measure of autonomy, similar to that accorded to Scotland within the United Kingdom. Insiders say the MPL-T wrote to Angola’s President José Eduardo dos Santos earlier this month to ask for dialogue and for permission to hold a public demonstration. It appears that no march permit was sought from the local authorities. Up to a thousand supporters are said to have turned out in the town of Luzamba at 7am with the aim […]

Human rights

Detained Angolan Journalist Threatens to Commit Suicide in Protest

14 de December de 2015 Rafael Marques de Morais

Detained Angolan journalist Sedrick de Carvalho has written a letter, from the São Paulo Prison, threatening to commit suicide in protest against his 176 days of unlawful detention, culminating in a sham trial which started on November 16. In an open letter to the public, the 26 year-old journalist reveals that, during his six months in detention, he spent more than 2,000 hours straight in solitary confinement without being able to see daylight. He says this is a deliberate strategy by the Angolan authorities, to drive the prisoners insane with psychological torture, humiliation and other abuses. “I regret to say that from now on I will refuse any further visits, to prevent any efforts that my family (wife, little daughter, parents and siblings) may undertake to convince me to back down on my decision, Sedrick de Carvalho writes in his open letter. “ I am also announcing that I am […]

Youth Protesters Charged with Rebellion on Trial Today

16 de November de 2015 Maka Angola

Seventeen young Angolan activists were charged in court with rebellion against the state on Monday, a case rights groups said showed increasing intolerance of dissent. The young campaigners were detained in June after organising a reading of U.S. academic Gene Sharp’s 1993 book: “From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation”. The book’s blurb describes it as: “a blueprint for nonviolent resistance to repressive regimes”. Charges against them read out in court included acts of rebellion, planning mass action of civil disobedience in the capital Luanda and producing fake passports. Their defence lawyer told the hearing his clients were not guilty of any crime because debate and freedom of speech were protected under the constitution. Human rights groups have accused Angola’s President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and his government of using the legal system to crack down on critics after several activists were jailed or detained this year on […]

Attempts at Peaceful Protests are Now Undemocratic in Angola

24 de September de 2015 Maka Angola

The families of Angolan political prisoners are appealing against the decision of the Luanda Provincial Governor, Graciano Domingos, banning the protest and vigil set for the 26 of September. Graciano Domingos argued that the gathering would be undemocratic. This is yet another episode in the famous case of the young activists who were arrested last June on politically motivated charges that they were plotting a coup against President Dos Santos. The youth had assembled at a book club reading, and were discussing materials on non-violent strategies against repression when they were detained. “We would like to make it known that the case is still going through the appropriate legal procedures; therefore, we need to wait patiently for the final decision on the basis of the law, and for the defence of the accused on the basis of their constitutional rights,” the governor said. The law permits 90 days of preventive […]

Mavungo Convicted to Six Years in Jail for a Protest Never Held

15 de September de 2015 Lisa Rimli

Yesterday, September 14, a judge of the provincial court of Cabinda sentenced José Marcos Mavungo, a 57 year-old human rights activist, to six years of imprisonment on the charge of rebellion. His legal counsels will appeal to the Supreme Court. Mavungo has already spent six months in jail, and will serve 5.5 more years in jail. The peaceful protest he attempted to organize on March 14 never took place, as it had been prohibited by the authorities. Nevertheless, police and security forces arrested him as he stepped out of a Catholic religious service early in the morning on the same day of the planned protest. The authorities charged him with the crime of rebellion. Mavungo’s sentencing was a mockery of justice. It did not meet basic due process guarantees and formal trial standards required by Angolan law. The judge Jeremias Sofrera ignored the blatant lack of evidence exposed during the […]

Relatives of Political Prisoners Decide to go Ahead with Protest

26 de August de 2015 Maka Angola

The mothers, wives and sisters of 15 Angolan political prisoners decided to appeal against the decision of the governor of Luanda, Graciano Domingos, who banned the march organised to take place on 28 August. The women vowed to take to the streets anyway. “We are not going to sit and wait for our sons [to be released]. We really are going to march. It is our right”, stated Adália Chivonde, the mother of prisoner Manuel Nito Alves, and one of the petitioners. “The police can beat us and send in the dogs against us mothers. During the march on 8 August, the police broke one of my toes, this time they can break one of my legs, but the march will go ahead”, she vowed. In the new petition, which was lodged with the governor’s office today, the organisers of the march gave notice of the decision to “hold a […]

Protest to Free Activists Planned for the President’s Birthday Bash

20 de August de 2015 Rafael Marques de Morais

A group of mothers, sisters and wives of 15 Angolan political prisoners plan to demonstrate in Luanda on 28 August, the president’s birthday, to demand the release of their relatives. They delivered a letter on Thursday to the Luanda provincial governor, Graciano Domingos, informing him of their intention to hold a demonstration and vigil. They explained that the initiative comes from “a spirit of solidarity with their sons, spouses, brothers, relatives and friends” and that they intend to “show their feelings of inconsolable sorrow.” According to the letter, which Maka Angola has seen with the stamp confirming it was received by the provincial government, the demonstration will start at 3 pm at Largo da Independência (Independence Square), will pass through Largo da Sagrada Família and end at Largo da Maianga, where there will be a vigil. The petitioners call on governor Graciano Domingos to ensure “that the demonstration takes place […]

Police Brutally Repress Protesting Mothers of Political Prisoners

8 de August de 2015 Rafael Marques de Morais

The activist David Salei is in a fragile state after hours in the emergency ward of Américo Boavida Hospital in Luanda as the result of the beating he received during a police crackdown on a protest march organised by the mothers and families of 15 political prisoners. Fellow activist Paulo Paixão told Maka Angola that David Salei “was brutally kicked in the ribs and abdomen and punched several times. He is in a bad state, he can’t talk properly and one of his legs is paralysed.” David Salei (right) ended up in the emergency war after severe beatings by the police. “I was hit twice in the back but I managed to escape,” Paulo Paixão said. The elder sister of the political prisoner Fernando Tomás “Nicola Radical” was attacked by a dog that police unleashed on the demonstrators. The dog latched onto her clothing, and pulled her so that she […]

Violence and Arrests Thwarted Another Protest in Angola

1 de August de 2015 Rafael Marques de Morais

On July 30, the Angolan authorities played a game of cat and mouse regarding the whereabouts of nine activists who were detained on Wednesday during a demonstration in support of 15 political prisoners. When approached by Maka Angola, the Luanda provincial police commander, Commissioner-Chief António Sita, started by saying “we haven’t detained anyone. [The activists] were being collected and directed to [the activist] David Salei’s home [in Viana municipality]. Adão Bunga “MC Life”, Adolfo Campos, Agostinho Epalanga, Kika Delegado, Laurinda Gouveia, Manuel José Afonso “Feridão”, Mário Faustino, Raúl Mandela and Valdemiro Piedade were held incommunicado since they were “collected” by the National Police at Largo da Independência (Independence Square). Commander Sita declared that the activists “want to create a political fact. They are playing a dirty game. They have switched off their mobile phones and are hiding at Kilometre 30 [in Viana] at Paposseco’s house.” He added that in order […]

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