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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(English) Blood Diamonds: Angolan Generals Defeated in Court Case in Portugal

The Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s Office dismissed, yesterday, a criminal complaint lodged by nine Angolan generals against journalist Rafael Marques de Morais, and the publishing house Tinta-da-China, following the publication of “Blood Diamonds: Corruption and Torture in Angola”. Marques’ book, which was published in Portugal in 2011, is a chilling account of systematic human rights abuses by soldiers of the Angolan Armed Forces and guards of Teleservice, the largest private security company in the country. The generals are shareholders of both the diamond mining company Sociedade Mineira do Cuango, and its security contractor Teleservice. The book details several cases of murder with more than 100 victims, and dozens of torture cases with more than 500 victims. The generals alleged that the author defamed and slandered them. However, the Public Prosecutor, having examined the documentation entered into evidence, found that the publication of the book fell within the legitimate exercise of a […]

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Chiefs Denounce Human Rights Abuses in Angola’s Diamond Areas

A delegation of four traditional leaders representing the northeastern provinces of Lunda-Norte and Lunda-Sul provinces delivered today a petition to the Attorney-General of the Republic, general João Maria Moreira de Sousa, denouncing systematic violations of human rights in the diamond areas. The petition asks for the re-opening of a preliminary investigation, archived by the Attorney-General’s office last June, on human rights violations exposed by journalist Rafael Marques in his book Blood Diamonds: Corruption and Torture in Angola. The author lodged a criminal complaint against nine generals of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) as moral authors of systematic crimes of torture and assassination committed by guards of their private security company Teleservice. The generals, including the minister of State and head of Intelligence, general Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias “Kopelipa”, are also the owners of private company Lumanhe, the partner of the diamond mining joint-venture Sociedade Mineira do Cuango, in which concession […]

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