Schlagwort: Amnesty International

Angola has faced an unprecedented crackdown on human rights, including unlawful killings and arbitrary arrests, in the lead up to the 24 August election, Amnesty International said today.

Angola has been characterized by an increase in brutal crackdowns on human rights in recent years, including repression of any form of dissent

Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International's Director for East and Southern Africa

In its new briefing, “Make the vote meaningful for human rights observance: Human rights manifesto for Angola ahead of the 2022 general election”, the organization details how Angolan authorities have increased their clampdown on human rights amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation compounded by drought-induced hunger in the country’s southern region.

“Angola has been characterized by an increase in brutal crackdowns on human rights in recent years, including repression of any form of dissent. Protesters, including young people demanding accountability and their socio-economic rights, have not been spared,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.

As the country heads to the polls, authorities must outline their plans to respect human rights and ensure accountability for countless violations

Deprose Muchena

“As the country heads to the polls, authorities must outline their plans to respect human rights, ensure accountability for countless human rights violations, and access to justice and effective remedies for victims.

“Authorities must work with the international community to bring humanitarian relief to the victims of drought and hunger in the southern region.”

Unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests and hunger

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the security forces responsible for implementing restrictions killed at least seven boys and young men by using excessive and lethal force.

In January 2021, police shot and killed dozens of activists who were peacefully protesting the high cost of living in the mining town of Cafunfo in Lunda Norte province.Security forces also chased down protestors in surrounding neighbourhoods and forests. While the exact numbers of those killed and injured remain unknown, dumped bodies were found in the nearby Cuango River.

Following the violent repression of a peaceful protest on 8 February 2021, the country’s Criminal Investigation Service arrested José Mateus Zecamutchima of the Lunda Tchokwe Protectorate Movement, which advocates for autonomy and self-determination of the eastern half of Angola. Accused of “association with evildoers and armed rebellion” and “leading the rebellion to overthrow the government”, José Mateus was subjected to an unfair trial and imprisonment. He has often been denied contact with his lawyer and family.

On 30 May 2021, police in Cabinda arrested and detained several protestors after violently ending their procession and confiscating their personal items. The demonstration was part of a wider five-province protest against drought-induced hunger, unemployment and the unaffordable cost of living.

Amnesty International is calling on the candidates in the upcoming election to publicly commit, if elected, to:

• conduct prompt, thorough, impartial, independent, transparent and effective investigations into all the killings and hold those suspected to be responsible accountable in fair trials;
• ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims and their families;
• bring to justice in fair trials all members of the security forces accused of using excessive and lethal force against peaceful protestors and provide access to justice and effective remedies for victims and their families; and
• work with the international community to promptly bring humanitarian relief to the victims of drought and hunger in the southern region

Background

While land grabs of communal grazing sites by commercial cattle ranches have progressively eroded economic and social resilience of pastoralist communities since the end of the civil war in 2002, millions of people in the south of Angola are now facing further threats as a climate change-related drought continues. Food and water are growing increasingly scarce, which has caused thousands of people to flee their homes and seek refuge in neighbouring Namibia. On 24 August 2022, Angola will have the fifth general election since the end of the civil war. The vote will allow Angolans to elect their president and parliamentary representatives.

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The Tunisian authorities should immediately drop all charges against Salah Attia, a detained journalist who is on trial before a military court in connection with public remarks he made about President Kais Saied and the armed forces, Amnesty International said today. Attia’s next trial hearing is on 16 August.

Attia has now been detained for two months, and could face up to seven years in prison if found guilty. He is among the latest in a series of high-profile critics, political opponents, and perceived enemies of the president whom authorities have targeted with investigation, prosecution, arbitrary travel bans, or arbitrary detention since Saied claimed sweeping emergency powers on 25 July 2021.

… no civilian should face trial before Tunisia’s military courts. This travesty of justice must stop.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa

“Tunisian authorities are perfectly free to dispute and counter what media report about them without arresting and prosecuting journalists. In any case, no civilian should face trial before Tunisia’s military courts. This travesty of justice must stop,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“While President Saied has repeatedly vowed to uphold human rights  including freedom of expression, authorities’ persecution of Salah Attia sends a message to journalists that reporting on the president and state institutions may carry risks. Authorities must immediately release Salah Attia and drop the bogus charges against him.”

On 10 June, 2022 Attia, who is the owner and editor of Al Ray Al Jadid, a Tunis-based online newspaper, spoke as a guest on an Al Jazeera news show. During the broadcast, he said that President Saied had asked the army to close the offices of the Union Générale Tunisienne du Travaille, Tunisia’s largest labour union, but that the army had refused to do so and had informed the union. The union has denied this claim. Attia also said that the army had refused a request by Saied to place unspecified political leaders under house arrest.

On 11 June, police in Tunis arrested Attia. Two days later, the Military Court of First Instance opened an investigation against him in connection with the 10 June broadcast. A military judge ordered him placed in detention, where he has remained since. 

Two days later, the court launched an investigation against Attia for inciting armed violence, “accusing a public official of illegal acts without proof,” “denigrating the army” and “harming or disturbing others through telecommunications networks.” 

At the opening of Attia’s trial on 26 July, the judge dropped the charge of inciting armed violence, which mandates the death penalty, but maintained the other three charges, according to Attia’s lawyers. The three remaining charges all carry prison terms.

“Journalists should never have to fear reprisals from authorities for their reporting, no matter how critical, embarrassing, or otherwise displeasing for authorities that reporting might be,” said Amna Guellali. 

Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), both of which Tunisia has ratified, guarantee the right to freedom of expression, including – in the words of the ICCPR – the right to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds.” Any restrictions imposed on this right must be proportional, strictly necessary for a legitimate reason, and provided by law.

In addition, the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee has stated in its General Comment 34 that governments “should not prohibit criticism of institutions, such as the army or the administration.”

Defamation should always be treated as a civil, not criminal, offense, and those found guilty of defamation should not be punished with time in prison.

In a report published on 20 April 2010, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression called on governments to decriminalize defamation, and stated that “no criminal or civil action for defamation should be admissible in respect of a civil servant or the performance of his or her duties.”

Article 14 of the ICCPR guarantees the right to trial before a “competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law.” Because Tunisia’s president has the final word on the appointment of judges and prosecutors in the military justice system, Tunisia’s military courts do not fulfil the requirement of independence under international human rights law.

Background

On 25 July 2021, President Saied suspended parliament, dismissed former Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, and claimed sweeping emergency powers that he said were granted to him by the Constitution.

On 22 September 2021, Saied issued Presidential Decree 2021-117, which suspended most of Tunisia’s 2014 Constitution and granted him nearly unchecked powers to rule by decree. He also dissolved a temporary body tasked with vetting the constitutionality of laws, and barred anyone from overturning his decree-laws in court.

Since then, Saied has dissolved parliament and weakened or dismantled key institutional safeguards for human rights, including the independence of the judiciary. The number of civilians prosecuted in military courts has also increased sharply, including for “crimes” such as publicly criticizing the president.

Saied has also overseen that drafting, via an opaque process, of a new constitution that contains provisions threatening to human rights. The new constitution was approved by popular referendum on 25 July 2022.

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In response to protests that erupted due to the high cost of living on 10 August in Sierra Leone where dozens of people have lost their lives, the authorities have promised to investigate the circumstances leading to the loss of life.

The commitment from the authorities to investigate the deaths and other harm caused during the demonstrations which turned violent is an important step in the right direction. It is essential to ensure the full independence and impartiality of the investigation to determine the circumstances and responsibilities for the loss of lives, including if force was used in accordance with international standards, and to hold accountable all those responsible, including those in command.

Michèle Eken, researcher at Amnesty International's West and Central Africa office

“When policing assemblies, security forces have an obligation to minimize harm and injury, preserve human life and exercise restraint in the use of force. Law enforcement officials should only use force where there is no other means of achieving their legitimate objectives, and when the use of force is necessary and proportionate to the situation they face. This role should always be carried out in a way that ensures full respect for the right to life, liberty, and security of all persons, including those suspected of committing a crime.

“Amnesty International recalls that international human rights law equally protects spontaneous assemblies, which must not be dispersed solely for the fact that individuals did not submit a prior notification to the authorities. Therefore, the organization urges the government of Sierra Leone to amend the 1965 Public Order Act to expressly include an exemption from the prior notification requirement in the case of spontaneous assemblies.

“Amnesty International is also concerned that the authorities cut off the internet sporadically between 10 and 11 August. Access to the internet, social media, instant messaging apps and other digital technologies are important tools expanding the ability of people to protest both online and offline, enabling people to gain access to information, distribute details about an upcoming protest, organize, and enable virtual engagement in a wide variety of ways. Therefore, disruption of internet access is a violation of the right to freedom of expression and access to information protected by international human rights law and can have a dire impact on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.

“Amnesty International heard reports of more than a hundred of people arrested. The authorities must ensure that bystanders and those who were protesting peacefully are not arbitrarily arrested simply for having participated in the demonstrations. If the authorities have enough evidence pointing to the use of violence by some individuals during the protests, they must guarantee their rights to due process and fair trial throughout the proceeding, including the right to representation.”

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