Angola: US President Biden must demand immediate release of five arbitrarily detained government critics

 

During his visit to Angola from 13 to 15 October, US President Joe Biden must demand Angolan President João Lourenço and his government immediately release five government critics arbitrarily detained for more than a year, four of whom have been tortured through deliberate denial of medical care, Amnesty International said. 

President Biden must also demand President Lourenço and his government stop the four-year crackdown on peaceful protests which has killed dozens of people, including children, and seen more than 100 arbitrarily arrested during demonstrations. Angolan authorities must respect the rights of all people in the country. 

“In President João Lourenço’s Angola, anyone who publicly criticizes the government risks arrest, torture or even death. If human rights are central to President Biden’s foreign policy, then he must demand Angola’s government immediately and unconditionally free the five arbitrarily detained government critics and end the crackdown on the right to protest,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International Senior Director for Regional Human Rights Impact. 

Police arrested Adolfo Campos, Hermenegildo Victor (known as Gildo das Ruas), Abraão Pedro Santos (known as Pensador) and Gilson Moreira (known as Tanaice Neutro) ahead of a protest against high fuel prices in September 2023. One month earlier, police arrested social media influencer Ana da Silva Miguel (known as Neth Nahara) after she broadcast a live TikTok video criticizing President Lourenço. Neth Nahara is featured in this year’s Write for Rights, Amnesty International’s biggest human rights campaign.

Prison authorities have denied urgent medical care, including surgery, to Campos, Gildo das Ruas and Tanaice Neutro as their health has deteriorated, amounting to torture. They also held Tanaice in solitary confinement for 36 days. Prison guards prevented Neth Nahara from accessing her daily antiretroviral medication for the first eight months of her detention. 

Resources and repression 

President Biden’s first and only trip to Africa will focus on American backing for the Lobito Corridor, a major infrastructure project linking natural resource-rich areas of Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to Angola’s Atlantic coast. 

Angola has vast mineral deposits and is Africa’s third largest oil producer. But the country’s natural resource wealth has not translated to prosperity for most of its people, resulting in numerous peaceful protests against poverty, unemployment, inequality and high cost of living. 

Angolan security forces have consistently responded to these and other protests with repression and violence. Since 2020, Amnesty International has documented shocking cases of security forces arresting, beating, shooting, torturing and killing people during peaceful assemblies. 

“The United States cannot pursue private sector development in Africa without also ensuring that the human rights of all people on the continent are prioritized, promoted and respected,” said Kate Hixon, Advocacy Director for Africa at Amnesty International USA. “President Biden should use the opportunity of his visit to put pressure on the Angolan authorities to uphold the country’s international human rights obligations and protect the dignity and humanity of all people.” 

In January 2021, Angolan Armed Forces killed dozens of protesters in the diamond mining town of Cafunfo, Lunda Norte province, during a demonstration against poverty. 

On 5 June 2023, police shot and killed at least five people, including a 12-year-old boy, and arrested dozens during protests against high fuel costs. On 17 June 2023, police deployed tear gas and grenades against hundreds of demonstrators in Luanda, wounding multiple people. 

So far this year, police have violently broken up three peaceful demonstrations against government economic policies and repression. Each time, police beat activists and arbitrarily detained people for up to ten hours before releasing them without charge. 

Perpetrators have enjoyed near total impunity for the death or injury of these people and others, contributing to further violence against protesters. As a result, many people are afraid to protest in Angola, and demonstrations against government policies are now rare. 

President Lourenço’s government has also passed numerous laws which ban criticism of the president, give the government excessive control of civil society organizations and stifle the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and press. 

“There is a clear link between the unequal distribution of the proceeds of natural resource wealth in Angola and the government’s crackdown on protests and peaceful dissent. If President Biden wants the US to help Angola extract and export natural resources, he must not ignore the repression that goes with it. Biden must be up front with President Lourenço and his government that protest rights are human rights,” said Deprose Muchena. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.