Search Results for: Rafael Marques de Morais

Independence Celebrations Marred by Crackdown on Human Rights

President José Eduardo dos Santos’s tightening stranglehold on freedom of expression in Angola and his government’s decades of fear and repression will cast an indelible stain on the 40th anniversary of the country’s independence, said Amnesty International today. As dignitaries and foreign leaders gather in the capital Luanda to mark four decades of independence, at least 16 activists continue to languish in Angolan jails. “40 years after independence, many Angolans still have a long way before they realise their human rights freedoms. Those who express views that differ from those of the regime are subjected to brutal treatment. Independence should also be about people being allowed to freely express themselves,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa. “Many human rights defenders are suffering in jail merely for asking for accountability and respect for human rights. The state is using police and the judiciary to entrench fear and […]

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Kenyan and Angolan Journalists Awarded Prize for Integrity

Two African journalists known for exposing corruption in their respective countries of Kenya and Angola have been named the joint recipients of the 2015 Allard Prize for International Integrity. The Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia presented John Githongo and Rafael Marques de Morais with the Allard Prize at a special ceremony last night. The $100,000 prize is one of the world’s largest awards recognizing efforts to combat corruption and to promote human rights. As joint recipients, Mr. Githongo and Mr. Marques de Morais were each awarded $50,000 for their brave efforts in protecting human rights and fighting corruption. “It is a singular honour and a humbling experience to be selected for the Allard Prize,” says Mr. Githongo. “This recognition serves as an encouragement and as an important recognition that there is across the world a partnership between all people who care about human […]

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From a CIA Conspiracy Theory to the Murdering of Activists

The trial regarding the 2012 killing of Angolan political activists Alves Kamulingue and Isaías Cassule, which resumed on November 18, continues today. The central question still concerns who, in the chain of command of the state and the ruling MPLA, ordered their deaths? What is known is that the two had been involved in organizing a demonstration on 27 May 2012, which was intended to involve former members of the Presidential Guard and demobilized soldiers. After negotiations with and pressure from the Presidential Intelligence Bureau, the former presidential guards pulled out of the protests. A further question is why the alleged killers of both men are being charged in a single case, although each death involved a different group of suspects. A total of seven suspects have been detained. In the Kamulingue case, two National Intelligence and State Security (SINSE) officials have been charged: António Gamboa Vieira Lopes and Paulo […]

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Generals demand $1.2 million damages and jail for Rafael Marques

The head of the Intelligence Bureau at the Presidency, General  Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias “Kopelipa,” six other Angolan generals and the mining company Sociedade Mineira do Cuango (SMC) are jointly demanding damages of US$1.2 million from Rafael Marques de Morais, the journalist whom they have accused of defamation. Marques de Morais went to the Luanda Provincial Court on Tuesday morning to sign the formal acknowledgement of the charges against him. The trial date will be set in the coming weeks. The generals’ complaint of criminal libel is solely based on the public prosecutor’s decision to set aside a complaint that Marques de Morais brought against the same group of generals in 2011 on the grounds of alleged crimes against humanity committed in the diamond-producing Lunda Norte province. In addition to Kopelipa, the generals who brought the complaint are Carlos Alberto Hendrick Vaal da Silva, Adriano Makevela Mackenzie, João Baptista de […]

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Angolan Vice-President Vicente’s Illegal Business Role

Angolan Vice-President Manuel Vicente is facing a criminal complaint over business dealings that are allegedly contrary to Angolan laws that govern the private affairs of the highest government officials. The case, brought by journalist and human rights defender Rafael Marques de Morais, refers in particular to Vicente’s role in China Sonangol International Holding, a majority Chinese-owned private company. Marques presented the complaint to the Angolan Attorney General on Thursday, August 8. The complaint calls on the authorities to initiate impeachment proceedings against Vicente. It cites Article 138 of the Angolan Constitution, which states that positions of Ministers of State, Ministers, Secretaries of State and Deputy Ministers are incompatible with “any administrative functions, management or any corporate position in companies and other purposes of an economic nature.” The complainant told Maka Angola that Manuel Vicente’s involvement with Chinese interests at a time when he was already vice-president-elect would cause him to […]

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Blood Diamonds: Pre-Trial Investigation Deadline Expired

The defense lawyer acting for Angolan journalist Rafael Marques de Morais has called for the setting aside of the eleven criminal charges laid against him by seven Angolan generals in January. The charges of slander and defamation were brought in reaction to the book Blood Diamonds: Torture and Corruption in Angola, 15 months after its publication, in Portugal. According to lawyer Luís Nascimento, “Angolan law limits the period of preparatory instruction to two months when there are no suspects being held in custody, and this period cannot be extended.” Mr. Nascimento invoked the constitutional principle that prevents double jeopardy. “A citizen may not be tried more than once on the same facts,” he said. In 2012 the generals and the managers of the Sociedade Mineira do Cuango, the diamond mining company in which the generals are shareholders, brought charges in Portugal against the author and his publisher, Tinta-da-China, for calumny, […]

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“Generals vs Rafael Marques” at the United Nations

Representatives of 17 Angolan and international organizations have written to the United Nations and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, asking that these bodies call on the Angolan government to put an end to the defamation charges against journalist Rafael Marques de Morais. A letter sent on August 2 expresses concern with the various legal measures taken against Mr. Marques de Morais concerning his book Blood Diamonds: Corruption and Torture in Angola published in Portugal in 2011. The book reports cases of murder and torture against people in the diamond-bearing Lundas’ region, in northeastern Angola. The most recent legal action against  Mr. Marques de Morais comprises 11 criminal complaints brought by seven Angolan generals acting individually and three corporations acting collectively, namely Sociedade Mineira do Cuango, ITM-Mining and the security company Teleservice. All are implicated in the alleged crimes that occurred in the Lundas, as documented in Mr. […]

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HRW: Leis de Difamação Silenciam Jornalistas

A organização internacional de direitos humanos Human Rights Watch (HRW) urge a Procuradoria-Geral da República de Angola a arquivar imediatamente todas as acusações recentes de difamação contra o jornalista investigativo Rafael Marques de Morais, alegando que estas põem em causa o direito à liberdade de expressão. Em comunicado emitido hoje, 12 de Agosto, a HRW indica ainda que o governo angolano deve rever as leis de difamação do país, que são o fundamento da acusação contra o jornalista. Segundo Leslie Lefkow, diretora-adjunta de África da HRW, “Angola tem achado as suas leis de difamação muito útil para reprimir relatos sobre corrupção e violações de direitos humanos. Angola devia estar a investigar estes relatos de graves violações de direitos humanos ao invés de tentar silenciar os portadores de más notícias”. As várias acções judiciais contra o jornalista estão relacionadas com o conteúdo do seu livro Diamantes de Sangue: Corrupção e Tortura […]

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HRW: Defamation Laws Silence Journalists

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the Angolan attorney-general to drop all criminal defamation charges against investigative journalist and human rights defender Rafael Marques de Morais, arguing that the charges undermine the right to freedom of expression. In a press release  (HERE É PARA TIRAR O LINK APENAS here) issued today, August 12, HRW also urged the Angolan government to repeal the country’s criminal defamation laws, which are the basis for the charges against Mr. Marques de Morais. According to Leslie Lefkow, HRW deputy Africa director, “Angola has found its criminal defamation laws very useful to try to squelch reports about corruption and human rights violations. Angola should be investigating these reports of serious human rights violations instead of trying to silence the bearers of bad news.” The various legal measures taken against Mr. Marques de Morais are related to his book Blood Diamonds: Corruption and Torture in Angola, published […]

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Rafael Marques Placed Under Investigation in Angola

Angolan journalist Rafael Marques de Morais was interrogated and charged of defamation by on Wednesday by the Department for Combating Organised Crime of the National Criminal Investigation Directorate  (DNIC). It was only during questioning that Mr. Marques de Morais was formally notified that he was under investigation, and was offered the services of a public defender, which he refused. The journalist had not made arrangements to be accompanied by a lawyer as he did not know the content of the DNIC notification, which was only conveyed to him over the phone. In January, three shareholders and managers of the company ITM-Mining accused Mr. Marques de Morais of having defamed them in his book “Blood Diamonds: Torture and Corruption in Angola” (“Diamantes de Sangue: Tortura e Corrupção em Angola”), published in September 2011 in Portugal. The three men – Mozambican Hermínio Teixeira, Briton Andrew Paul Machin, and Angolan Jorge Gonçalves – […]

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