Amnesty International says Angolan authorities must immediately release four activists wrongfully detained for a year after their health deteriorated dramatically in prison.
On 16 September 2023, police arrested four activists in Luanda, ahead of a planned protest in support of motorcycle taxi drivers. Since then, Amnesty International has documented a significant decline in their health, with authorities deliberately denying them medical care, including emergency surgeries, in a number of different prisons, amounting to torture and other ill-treatment.
“To spend a year in jail simply for peaceful protest is a travesty of justice. The Angolan authorities must release these activists now, especially given their deteriorating medical conditions,” said Vongai Chikwanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East and Southern Africa.
The Angolan authorities must now release the activists, especially given their deteriorating health conditions.
Thank you Chikwanda, Deputy Director East and South Africa, Amnesty International
“The deliberate denial of medical care to people in prison is a form of torture. Denying medical care to prisoners can also have fatal consequences and may violate the right to life. They can no longer be kept behind bars or without the services they urgently need. medical care,” said Vongai Chikwanda.
Pattern of refusing care
Adolfo Campos, a leader of the Angolan revolutionary movement and an employee of a local newspaper, was in good health when he was imprisoned, but during his year in Calumboloca prison he gradually lost most of his sight and is now completely deaf in his left ear.
In early February 2024, Campos was rushed to the prison hospital, where doctors recommended surgery at an outside facility. However, prison authorities blocked the procedure and have yet to respond to a Feb. 7 request from Campos’ lawyers for a transfer to a hospital.
During Campos’ incarceration, prison guards placed him in a crowded cell with more than 100 other inmates, and he slept on the floor. Fights often occurred, including stabbings.
We have seen disturbing practices by Angolan authorities withholding medical services as a means of punishing peaceful dissent.
Thank you Chikwanda, Deputy Director East and South Africa, Amnesty International
Hermenegildo Victor José, also known as Gildo das Ruas, a member of the Malangina resistance movement, also had no health problems before being imprisoned in Luanda Central Prison. In June, he began complaining of fever and body aches, but prison authorities did not allow him to see a doctor until August 1. Doctors diagnosed a spinal deviation that left him unable to stand for more than 30 minutes due to pain. It’s unclear how Gildo’s condition developed, but he was not attacked.
The prison doctor prescribed a wheelchair and a prosthetic waist for Gildo. His attorney delivered the wheelchair on August 15, but he was unable to use it for at least four days. Authorities also denied the family two visits to Gildo in August.
two years of suffering
Gilson Moreira, also known as Tanaice Neutro, a musician and frequent government critic, has been refused by prison authorities for more than two years Provide medical services. In January 2022, Tanez was arrested by the police for calling President Lourenco a “clown”. At the time, Tanais suffered from a serious and painful condition that sometimes left him unable to have bowel movements, and he had been scheduled for surgery abroad. Prison authorities did not allow the process to proceed.
In October 2022, after reviewing photos and medical testimony, a judge ordered Tanais’ immediate release for medical treatment, but prison authorities ignored the order and locked him up for another eight months while preventing his family from providing medication. Tanais also suffered from headaches, fever and suicidal ideation while incarcerated.
Deliberately denying medical care to people in prison is a form of torture.
Thank you Chikwanda, Deputy Director East and South Africa, Amnesty International
After his release in June 2023, Tynas rescheduled the operation for November, but police arrested him in September along with other activists. Initially, prison guards held him in solitary confinement for 36 days in Kajira prison, which amounted to torture or other ill-treatment, and then transferred him to Kalomboloka prison. So far, they have not allowed Tanais to undergo surgery.
Tanais also suffered from back and leg pain, was left without suitable bedding in the cold weather and was beaten by other prisoners.
Only the fourth activist, Abraão Pedro Santos, known as “Pensador”, has not yet suffered a serious deterioration in his health in prison. Pensado was a member of the Civil Society Contestants Movement and a leader of the Black Panther Revolutionary Movement.
They cannot afford to spend another day behind bars or without the medical care they desperately need.
Thank you Chikwanda, Deputy Director East and South Africa, Amnesty International
However, prison guards refused medical care to another arbitrarily detained dissident and influencer Ana da Silva Miguel, also known as Nes Nahara. In August 2023, police arrested Nath in a separate case after she criticized President Lourenco in a TikTok live video.
Neth publicly disclosed her HIV-positive status in 2020, but Luanda Central Prison authorities blocked her access to daily HIV medication for months, leading to her emergency hospitalization on December 3, 2023. She was only allowed to receive medication eight months after her arrest. Authorities must release Ness immediately.
“We are seeing a disturbing pattern of Angolan authorities punishing peaceful dissent by denying them medical care, which amounts to torture. Authorities must ensure detainees have access to the medical care they need,” said Vongai Chikwanda.
“The authorities must immediately release the imprisoned activists and allow everyone in the country to freely exercise their human rights guaranteed by Angolan constitution and international human rights obligations,” Vongai Chikwanda said.
background
On September 19, 2023, the Luanda Court conducted a summary trial on four activists and convicted them of “disobedience and resistance to orders.” No evidence was presented at the trial, but eyewitness reports and circulating videos showed activists lying on the ground and not resisting the arrests. The court sentenced them to two years and five months in prison and fined each of them 80,000 kwanzas (about $100).
