Amnesty International calls for immediate release of detained Angola activists News
jorono / Pixabay
Amnesty International calls for immediate release of detained Angola activists

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.

THIS DAY @ LAW

President Ford offered amnesty to Vietnam draft-evaders

On September 16, 1974, President Gerald Ford announced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War deserters and draft-evaders which would waive any charges provided they agreed to work two years in public service. A Presidential Clemency Board was created to administer the program - it finished its work in September 1975 after having disposed of 14, 514 cases. Critics said the initiative did not go far enough, however, and noted that only about 19 percent of eligible persons even applied. Learn more about the conditional amnesty program from the Papers of Charles E. Goodell, the Washington lawyer who was Chairman of the PCB, now housed at the Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Ozone Layer treaty opens for signatures

On September 16, 1987, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was opened for signature. It has since been signed by almost 200 nations. As a result, the Earth's Ozone Layer is expected to recover by the year 2050.

William O. Douglas born

On September 16, 1898, William O. Douglas was born in Maine Township, Minnesota. Douglas went on to become Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission before being named to the US Supreme Court by President Franklin Roosevelt. Douglas would become an influential civil libertarian on the Warren Court and the longest-tenured Justice in history, serving for 36 years and 7 months.