Angola :: Freedom for Mavungo

Authorities in the country continue to disregard UN recommendations on activist’s detention

A year after the arbitrary detention of the activist José Marcos Mavungo, Angola continues to disregard the recommendations made by the United Nations on human rights violations in the country. Mavungo was arrested on March 14, 2015, and later sentenced to six years in prison for his part in organizing a peaceful protest against human rights abuses and bad governance in the province of Cabinda.

On September 28, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), together with UN special rapporteurs, sent a letter to the government of Angola expressing concern at the arrest and the charges brought against the activist. Two months later, the same group concluded that the detention of Mavungo was arbitrary and in violation of international law, and it called on the Angolan authorities to immediately release and grant him compensation for the harm suffered.

Even after taking over the presidency of the UN Security Council, in New York, on the first day of March this year, the Angolan government has remained silent on the criticisms and demands. Since 2015, the country’s authorities have been accused of ordering a series of detentions of activists – such as the case of Manuel Nito Alves.

In condemnation of the violations committed by the government of Angola, the international organizations ACAT France, Amnesty International, Southern Africa Litigation Centre and Front Line Defenders issued a statement calling for Mavungo’s release, on the grounds that the activist was convicted and sentenced solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. In support, Conectas signed the document and hopes that Angola will fully implement UNWGAD’s recommendations.

According to the statement, Mavungo, a former member of the human rights organization Mpalabanda – banned by the authorities in 2006 – “was intending to peacefully demonstrate against human rights violations and lack of transparency in the region’s management of public funds”.

Click here to read the press release issued by the organizations.