wr2014_web_0

WORLD REPORT 2014Between August 10 and September 12 2013, military and intelligence officialsarrested, mistreated, in several cases tortured, and jailed at least 20 men inCabinda, including an adviser to the deputy governor of Cabinda. They werecharged with armed rebellion and remain in pretrial detention.Nine men of Congolese origin and Angolan, Belgian and French nationalities,alleged to be former members of the defunct Armed Forces of Zaire (FAZ) werearrested on November 22, 2012, beaten and tortured by military and borderguards while in incommunicado detention. In May, they were charged witharmed rebellion against the government of the Democratic Republic of theCongo, illegal entry and stay in Angola. As of November 2012, the menremained in pretrial detention.Since January 2013, Arão Tempo, a lawyer and local representative of theAngolan Bar, has received repeated death threats from intelligence officialswarning him to stop defending the 20 men held in Cabinda and the 9 allegedFAZ members.Police Brutality during Removals of Street TradersIn October 2012, the governor of Luanda ordered urgent measures to reducestreet trade in the capital. Since then, the authorities have scaled up efforts toremove street vendors from the streets of Luanda.During these operations, police and government inspectors have routinely mistreatedstreet vendors, including pregnant women and women with children, byseizing their goods, extorting bribes, threatened them with imprisonment, andin some cases arresting them. The authorities have also intimidated, harassed,and arbitrarily arrested journalists, activists, and witnesses who seek to documentthe brutality of the operations.Forced EvictionsThe majority of Angola’s urban population lives in informal settlements withoutlegal protection. Angola’s laws neither adequately protect people from forcedeviction nor enshrine the right to adequate housing. In 2013, the governmentcontinued to carry out mass forced evictions in areas that it claimed were82