from PEDRO AGOSTO in Luanda, Angola
Angola Bureau
LUANDA, (CAJ News) – AUTHORITIES have been urged to hold accountable police officers for allegedly killing, injuring and traumatizing dozens of people during protests between 2020 and 2023.
The violations were allegedly committed during protests against the government.
Amnesty International has released a report, “Broken promises: protesters caught between tear gas, bullets and batons in Angola.”
It reveals a pattern of excessive and unnecessary use of force by police under President João Lourenço.
“People in Angola protested when Lourenço didn’t live up to his electoral promises,” said Khanyo Farisè, Amnesty Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
Lourenco, leader of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), has been in power since 2017.
“But instead of respecting the right to peaceful assembly, police under Lourenço’s leadership cracked down with brutal force,” Farise said.
Amnesty’s research documents a child shot dead, limbs burned by tear gas canisters hurled at crowds and vicious beatings in police custody resulting in deep physical and emotional scars.
“Angolan authorities still have held no one accountable for these violations. The victims and their families deserve justice now,” Farise said.
Amnesty investigated police actions at eleven protests and found that officers deployed live bullets and tear gas against demonstrators, killing at least 17 people, while beating and arbitrarily detaining others in violation of Angolan and international law.
– CAJ News