Voices of Angola :: Political arrests

International pressure mounts against detention of 14 activists who oppose the government

Conectas has joined the international condemnation against the detention of 14 Angolan activists who oppose the government of José Eduardo dos Santos (in power since 1979). They were arrested on June 20 and charged with threatening the order and security of the State. In handcuffs, they were taken by the police to their homes and forced to hand over computers, cameras and documents. No search and seizure warrants were issued.

One of the arrested activists, Manuel Nito Alves, participated in the 14th International Human Rights Colloquium staged in São Paulo from May 24-29. During his time in Brazil, he spoke about the risks that he was taking by criticizing the president and he denounced the violation of rights and freedoms in his country – a situation that, according to local human rights organizations, has worsened since the approval of the new Constitution in 2010.

Conectas expressed concern with the detention of the group and has requested their unconditional release from the Angolan Ministry of Justice. In a letter sent through the country’s embassy in Brasília, the organization stressed that the responsibilities assumed internationally by Angola compel the government to respect human rights.

“The fact that Angola is part of international institutions such as the Security Council and the Human Rights Council, both United Nations bodies, and of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, increases the responsibility of the Angolan government to protect the human rights and the fundamental freedoms of its own people,” reads the document.

Click here to read the letter in full.