Peaceful Assembly
As reported previously by the CIVICUS Monitor, authorities regularly use excessive force to break up peaceful protests to suppress dissent. Several recent cases of violations of the right to peaceful assembly are as follows:
On 22nd May, a group of 400 street vendors known as "zungueiras" protested against the programme of the provincial government of Luanda to reorganise informal street markets. According to HRW, the police fired tear gas and beat them with batons. As a result, several protesters and bystanders were injured.
On 2nd June, four activists were detained for peacefully protesting the NGO Bill (see association section) in front of the provincial government and national assembly. They were released three days later and mandated to pay a fine of 50,000 Kwanzas (80 USD) each.
On 5th June, taxi drivers started protesting the high fuel prices. According to reports, five people were killed while eight others were injured during the protest in Huambo Province. At least 34 others were arrested for exercising their right to protest.
In a statement, HRW stated that Angolan security forces have carried out more than a dozen unlawful killings and numerous other serious abuses against political activists and peaceful protesters since January 2023.
Angola: Grave Police Abuses Against Activists https://t.co/nrQf3k4s2z
— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) August 12, 2023
Association
On 25th May 2023, the National Assembly in Angola voted on the draft law approving the status of Non-Governmental Organisations. According to CSOs, the proposal restricts the right to association and poses a “threat to the very existence of NGOs and human rights defenders.”
In an interview with CIVICUS, KUTAKESA expressed:
The approval of this law is just another means of repression and of legalising the arrogance and excesses of the government and its agents, particularly the national police.
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This is not the first time that the authorities have attempted to pass legislation to restrict the work of CSOs. In 2015, an NGO Presidential Decree was enacted, giving broad powers to the Public Prosecutor to suspend the activities of national and international NGOs on suspicion of money laundering, or illegal or harmful acts against “Angola’s sovereignty and integrity”.
The Angola Bar Association challenged the decree before the Constitutional Court, arguing that it allowed excessive and unlawful interference by the government in the work of civil society. In 2017, the Constitutional Tribunal declared unconstitutional the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Presidential Decree as the “president lacked the competence to regulate nongovernmental organizations.”
Expression
Human rights and media freedom watchdogs have criticised the Angolan government for its repressive laws on defamation and the chilling effect such laws have had on the media environment and freedom of expression.
On 15th March, the Camunda News website suspended its operations indefinitely after years of government harassment.
In October, a court in Luanda summoned Frederico, editor of news portal Reporter Angola, on charges of criminal defamation and insult, according to the CPJ. The charges are linked to a 2022 report published by another news site, Angola Online, denouncing alleged corruption by a prosecutor.
The same month, authorities arrested Alberto, editor of the online news outlet A Denúncia, at his home in the capital Luanda because he failed to comply with a 23rd June 2022 Supreme Court sentence in connection to a report about the allegedly illegal appropriation of land for a shopping mall by then-deputy attorney general Luis Liz.