Angola: Release Activists From Arbitrary Detention

Adolfo Miguel Campos André (44) is an activist and leader of the Angolan Revolutionary Movement. Father of four children, he works as head of assets for a local newspaper in Luanda. His activism began in 2011, when, along with other young people, he started a movement against the regime of former president José Eduardo Dos Santos, who at the time had been in power for 32 years, marked by corruption scandals, social inequalities, and serious violations of human rights.

Gildo das Ruas (29) is an activist and member of the Malangina Resistance Movement. Father of two young daughters, Gildo das Ruas began attending demonstrations in 2014. In 2021, he was arbitrarily detained for six months in Malange province in connection to his peaceful activism.

Abraão Pedro dos Santos (37) is an activist and member of Sociedade Civil Constestatária Movement and leader of the Panterra Negra Revolutionary Movement. Father of two young children, Abraão Pedro dos Santos always showed up in peaceful demonstrations, for which he was arbitrarily detained several times, but this is the first time he has been convicted. On the day of the trial, when the judge announced the names of those who were sentenced, Abraão Pedro dos Santos’ name was not mentioned – only Adolfo Campos, Tanaice Neutro and Gildo das Ruas’ were. Moments later, after the judge left the courtroom, the court writer was sent back to the room to read the summary of the trial. That was when Abraão Pedro dos Santos’s name was added to the charge sheet and he too was convicted.

 

Tanaice Neutro (36) is an activist who uses art to express his opinions on social problems such as poverty, inequalities, and corruption through Kuduro, an Angolan music type. In October 2022, Tanaice was sentenced to 15 months of suspended sentence for calling the president a clown. Since he refused to apologize to the president, even with a release order from the court, he was kept in prison beyond the terms of his sentence. He was finally released on 23 June 2023. He was only free for two months before his arrest with other three activists on 16 September 2023.

Following their arrest in September 2023, the public prosecutor initially accused the four activists of "outrage and injury to the President of the Republic". Amid various inconsistencies and lack of evidence, the charge was changed to ‘disobedience and resisting orders. During the four activists’ trial, one of the officers on duty of the day of the solidarity demonstration testified in court that the activists followed the due process of law  but even that was not enough to stop their conviction.

Amnesty International is concerned about the growing number of activists and human rights defenders being targeted by Angolan authorities, in clear violation of their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.