Amnesty International on Monday urged Angola authorities to immediately release four activists who have been wrongfully detained for a year. Amnesty accused the authorities of refusing medical care to the four men.

The four activists, Adolfo Campos, Abraão Pedro Santos, Gilson Morreira, and Hermenegildo Victor José, were arrested on September 16, 2023, in Luanda before they planned to participate in a protest in solidarity with motorcycle taxi drivers. They were summarily tried and convicted for “disobedience and resisting orders” based on Article 333 of Angola’s criminal code. According to Amnesty International, no evidence was presented at trial, and Angolan authorities have frequently used this article for the arbitrary detention of critics.

Since the activists’ incarceration, Amnesty International has documented that three face declining health, as authorities have allegedly refused to provide essential medical care and urgent surgery.

Vongai Chikwanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East and Southern Africa, stated, “We see a troubling pattern of Angolan authorities withholding medical care as a means of punishing peaceful dissent, amounting to torture.”

Relatedly, Amnesty International also called for the release of Angolan TikToker Ana da Silva Miguel, who was arrested in August 2023 after criticizing President João Lourenço during a live TikTok video. She was sentenced to two years in prison and has allegedly been denied HIV medication. A report from Human Rights Watch in 2023 also claimed that Angolan authorities unjustly killed more than 12 people since January 2023, in addition to perpetrating other severe human rights violations.