Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Vongai Chikwanda, has implored the Angolan authorities to release popular TikToker Ana da Silva Miguel, aka Neth Nahara, as she marks the first anniversary of her arrest.
“Neth Nahara should never have been locked up in the first place,” Chikwanda said, as she has now spent one year behind bars for criticizing President João Lourenço.
On 13 August 2023, authorities arrested Nahara in her home in Angola’s capital Luanda after she broadcast a live video on TikTok criticizing President Lourenço.
The next day, Angola’s first stage court convicted her of an “outrage against the state, its symbols and bodies” under article 333 of Angola’s penal code.
The court sentenced her to six months in prison and fined her one million Kwanza, or approximately 1,200 USD.
On 27 September, Angola’s second stage court extended her sentence to two years on an appeal by the public prosecutor. The court reportedly did not allow Nahara’s lawyers to counter-appeal as legally prescribed and has not responded to their complaint over the legal process.
Chikwanda contends that the Angolan authorities are abusing the penal code to try to silence public dissent.
“Indeed, Angola’s constitution explicitly protects free expression, which includes voicing political views on social media.
“Authorities must also release four other people who have been arbitrarily detained for more than ten months solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights to protest and expression,” said the Deputy Regional Director.
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