Responding to the release of five arbitrarily detained government critics in Angola after more than a year in prison, Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said:
“Nes Najara, Adolfo Campos, Gildo das Ruas, Tanás Neutro and Pensado are finally free. We are happy that they can return home to their loved ones.
“While we celebrate their release, these five men should not be locked up at all. Authorities arrested them simply for exercising their rights to free speech and peaceful assembly. We expect them to receive the medical care that authorities have deliberately denied in prison.
“Nes Najara, Adolfo Campos, Gildo das Ruas, Tanás Neutro and Pensado are finally free. We are happy that they can return home to their loved ones.
Sarah Jackson, Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Amnesty International
“The Angolan government must respect everyone’s rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and end arbitrary detention and torture in the country. They must urgently hold accountable anyone suspected of violating the rights of these five activists.
background
On December 25, 2024, Angolan President João Lourenco announced the pardon of social media influencer Ana da Silva Miguel (also known as Neth Nahara) and activist Adolfo Campos Adolfo Campos, Hermenegildo Victor José (Gildo das Ruas), Gilson Moreira (Tanaice Neutro) and Abrao Pedro Abraão Pedro Santos (aka Pensador).
Authorities released Neth Nahara on January 1, 2025, and four others on January 6, 2025.
Neth Nahara was arrested at her home in Luanda, the capital of Angola, on August 13, 2023, after she live-streamed a video criticizing President Lourenço on TikTok. On 16 September 2023, police arrested four more activists in Luanda, following a planned protest in support of motorcycle taxi drivers.
The Angolan government must respect everyone’s rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and end arbitrary detention and torture in the country
Sarah Jackson, Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Amnesty International
Authorities deliberately denied some of the five men medical care in detention, including emergency surgeries and routine HIV medication.
Amnesty International is campaigning extensively through petitions, public statements and events to demand the release of the five men, and is supporting them through their families and legal representatives while they are incarcerated. Neth Nahara appears at Write for Rights, Amnesty International’s largest human rights event in 2024.
