Amnesty International pickets to denounce police crackdown in Angola

Amnesty International is picketing at the Angolan embassy in Lisbon on Tuesday to denounce the crackdown and seek justice for the victims of police violence in Angola.

Paulo Fontes, campaign manager for the NGO’s Portuguese branch, told Lusa that due to “an end to the use of excessive, disproportionate and lethal force”, a petition will be launched by the Angolan security forces to exercise freedom of expression and assembly.

“We will launch a petition calling for an end to the excessive, disproportionate and lethal use of force by security forces in the exercise of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, and for a thorough investigation and accountability for all crimes committed. And that there is also, obviously, reparations and justice for the families of the victims,” said Paulo Fontes.

The head of the Portuguese branch of an international human rights NGO added that the pickets are part of a campaign carried out by Amnesty International in Angola.

“And we will not stop until freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and human rights are restored in general in Angola and around the world, but in this particular case in Angola,” he repeated.

According to him, Amnesty International “documented cases where dozens of young people were subjected to police violence and repression by the authorities when they tried to demonstrate, and some of them even lost their lives.”

Paulo Fontes lamented that in Angola, demonstrators, activists and “all people who express dissent are treated as nuisances by the Angolan authorities and repeatedly treated as criminals when they are not true.” “On the contrary,” he stressed.

This Tuesday’s vigil will also include Angolan activist Kenidi Domingos.