Human Rights Watch called on the Angolan government to stop its ongoing crackdown on press freedom in Angola, and urged the government to abide by the rule of law and respect press freedom. Human Rights Watch has registered twenty-seven cases of harrasment against journalists in Angola in the last twelve months.
Journalist and human rights activist Rafael Marques was convicted today by an Angolan court for defamation of the President. The trial was marred by serious procedural irregularities, such as the violation of Marques' right of defense. Marques was sentenced to six months in prison, but his lawyers paid a bond to keep him out of jail pending appeal before the Supreme Court.
"Marques' conviction is clearly part of an ongoing trend, and we're extremely concerned about this," said Peter Takirambudde, Executive Director of the Africa division of Human Rights Watch.
Two other journalists—the director of the Agora newspaper, Aguiar dos Santos, and the editor of Agora, Antonio Freitas—were also on trial. Another journalist, Andre Domingos Mussamo, was released on bail in mid-March after being held in detention in the Angolan province of Cuanza Norte for over three months despite the expiry of two release deadlines.
Mussamo is accused of stealing documents from the provincial government headquarters and of violating state secrets because of an unpublished article written by him. The article made reference to a letter from the provincial governor to President Eduardo dos Santos. He was detained on December 2, 1999. The law under which Mussamo is being held is the Law of Crimes against State Security, which was technically revoked by the new Constitution adopted in 1991.
"President dos Santos told us a few years ago that in Angola, ‘there is more freedom of the press than anywhere,'" said Takirambudde. "But we see no sign of this press freedom and the Angolan government is isolated internationally on this issue. This is very disappointing."
Takirambudde noted that the European Parliament recently made a declaration condemning infringements on press freedom in Angola, and the U.S. government and European Union have recently issued demarches on the subject.
