Marcos Mavungo

United Nations Calls for the Release of Marcos Mavungo

6 de January de 2016 Maka Angola

The American Bar Association, ACAT France, Front Line Defenders, the Southern African Litigation Centre and the global law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP –– welcomed the opinion by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) condemning as arbitrary and in violation of international law the arrest and conviction of Angolan human rights activist José Marcos Mavungo. The UNWGAD has called on the government of Angola to immediately release Mavungo and grant him compensation. “Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are fundamental to a democracy and no one should be detained for legitimately exercising these rights,” said ABA President Paulette Brown. “The ABA calls upon the government of Angola to respect the UNWGAD’s decision and immediately release José Marcos Mavungo.” Mavungo was arrested and detained in March 2015 on charges of rebellion for organizing a demonstration on human rights violations and bad governance in the Cabinda region of Angola. […]

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 […]