Amnesty Worldwide on Monday urged Angola authorities to right away launch 4 activists who’ve been wrongfully detained for a yr. Amnesty accused the authorities of refusing medical care to the 4 males.
The 4 activists, Adolfo Campos, Abraão Pedro Santos, Gilson Morreira, and Hermenegildo Victor José, had been arrested on September 16, 2023, in Luanda earlier than they deliberate to take part in a protest in solidarity with bike taxi drivers. They had been summarily tried and convicted for “disobedience and resisting orders” primarily based on Article 333 of Angola’s criminal code. In accordance with Amnesty Worldwide, no proof was offered at trial, and Angolan authorities have regularly used this text for the arbitrary detention of critics.
Because the activists’ incarceration, Amnesty Worldwide has documented that three face declining well being, as authorities have allegedly refused to supply important medical care and pressing surgical procedure.
Vongai Chikwanda, Amnesty Worldwide’s Deputy Director for East and Southern Africa, stated, “We see a troubling sample of Angolan authorities withholding medical care as a way of punishing peaceable dissent, amounting to torture.”
Relatedly, Amnesty Worldwide additionally called for the discharge of Angolan TikToker Ana da Silva Miguel, who was arrested in August 2023 after criticizing President João Lourenço throughout a reside TikTok video. She was sentenced to 2 years in jail and has allegedly been denied HIV treatment. A report from Human Rights Watch in 2023 additionally claimed that Angolan authorities unjustly killed greater than 12 folks since January 2023, along with perpetrating different extreme human rights violations.
Source / Picture: jurist.org
