Amnesty International urged Angola authorities on Wednesday to hold police officers accountable for injuring and killing people during protests between November 2020 and June 2023. The organization has also lamented the delay of justice for the victims of human rights violations.
A report published by Amnesty International uncovered the use of excessive and unnecessary force by police during protests under President João Lourenço’s regime. HRW had earlier raised similar concerns relating to human rights violations that had left 12 people dead in January 2023. Police have been accused of using live bullets, batons, and tear gas against demonstrators.
In 2020, protesters took to the streets over the high cost of living and demanded municipal elections be held when they were met by bullets and tear gas canisters from the authorities. A video shared on the X (formerly Twitter) platform showed police firing teargas at a crowd of escaping protesters during the 2022 “controversial” election protests. Other acts complained of include killings, beatings in police custody, and arbitrary detentions of protesters. In September, Amnesty urged Angolan authorities to release four activists who had been wrongfully detained for a year for planning to participate in a protest. According to Amnesty, at least 17 people died from police brutality at eleven protests between November 2020 and June 2023.
Despite the effects of police brutality, the authorities still have held accountable none of the officers responsible for the human rights violations. In some instances, authorities have entirely ignored some allegations against police. Even in the few cases where official investigations were promised, the authorities have yet to publicize their conclusions.
Khanyo Farisè, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, criticized police violence against protesters in Angola, thereby calling on both the attorney general’s office and the ombudsmen’s office to immediately investigate cases of unlawful use of force and police killings of protesters and ensure that perpetrators are brought to trial.
The rights group has urged the police to refrain from arbitrarily detaining or arresting peaceful protesters and subjecting them to acts of torture or using firearms, highly dangerous tear grenades, and wide-area chemical irritants to disperse assemblies. Also, they are to respect Angola’s obligations under the ICCPR and ACHPR and comply with international human rights standards. The international community has been called upon to use all available platforms to urge the Angolan authorities to protect and facilitate the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.
