AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

efore the Supreme Tribunal. The Tribunal
found that there was insufficient evidence to
convict him. José Marcos Mavungo had been
sentenced to six years in prison on 14
September 2015 for “rebellion”, a state
security offence. He had been in detention
since 14 March 2015 for involvement in
organizing a peaceful demonstration.
On 12 July, Cabinda Provincial Tribunal
dismissed the charges against human rights
defender and former prisoner of conscience
Arão Bula Tempo. He had been arrested on
14 March 2015 and conditionally released
two months later. He was charged with
“rebellion” and “attempted collaboration with
foreigners to constrain the Angolan state”,
both categorized as state security offences.
The charges were based on allegations that
Arão Bula Tempo had invited foreign
journalists to cover the 14 March protest
being planned by José Marcos Mavungo.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Civil society organizations working on human
rights issues, such as OMUNGA and SOS-
Habitat, faced undue restrictions on
accessing their own funds, including from
international sources. Banks prevented the
organizations from accessing their accounts.
This not only hampered their legitimate work
but also undermined the right of associations
to seek and secure resources, and had a
broader impact on human rights in general.
Despite their complaints to government
institutions in charge of overseeing banking
activities, no response had been received by
the end of the year.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The authorities frequently refused to allow
peaceful demonstrations to take place, even
though they do not require prior authorization
in Angola. When demonstrations did take
place, police often arbitrarily arrested and
detained peaceful protesters.
On 30 July, more than 30 peaceful
activists were arbitrarily arrested and
detained for up to seven hours in the city of
Benguela. They were planning to take part in
a peaceful demonstration organized by the
Benguela Revolutionary Movement to
demand effective measures against inflation.
All were released without charge. A few days
later, four of the activists were rearrested,
again without a warrant. They were released
on bail. They had not been formally charged
by the end of the year, but the Public
Prosecutor told them that they were
suspected of aggravated robbery, drugtrafficking
and violence against MPLA
supporters. 3 No one was held to account for
the arbitrary arrests and detentions. 4
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
On 18 November, the National Assembly
approved five draft bills (Press Law,
Journalist’s Statute, Radio Broadcasting Law,
Television Law and Social Communications
Regulatory Body Law) that will further restrict
freedom of expression. Opposition parties,
the Union of Angolan Journalists and other
civil society actors criticized the bills for
enabling tighter government control over
television, radio, the press, social media and
the internet.
Among the changes proposed was the
creation of a social communications
regulatory body with wide regulatory and
oversight competences, including
determining whether or not a given
communication meets good journalistic
practices. Such a provision would amount to
prior censorship and would hinder the free
flow of ideas and opinions. The majority of
the regulatory body’s members were to be
nominated by the ruling party and the party
with the most seats in the National Assembly
(MPLA in both cases), raising concerns that
the body would be a political institution that
silences critical voices and dissent.
RIGHT TO HEALTH – YELLOW FEVER
OUTBREAK
An outbreak of yellow fever, first reported in
Luanda in the last quarter of 2015, continued
into the second half of 2016 and included
suspected cases in all of the country’s 18
provinces. Of the 3,625 cases reported in this
period, 357 resulted in death. The outbreak
was made worse by a vaccine shortage at the
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