José Marcos Mavungo's sentence is arbitrary and must be nullified

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JOINT PRESS RELEASE

Angola: JoséMarcos Mavungo's sentence is arbitrary and must be nullified

Paris-Geneva, September 21, 2015 - The Observatory for the Protection ofHuman Rights Defenders (FIDH-OMCT) and the Associação Justiça, Paz e Democracia(AJPD) strongly condemn the sentencingof human rights defender José Marcos Mavungo to six years in prison. Mr.Mavungo is a former member of “Mpalabanda”, a civic group that was banned afterit produced reports highlighting rights abuses by security forces in oil-richbut poverty-racked Cabinda province.

On September14, 2015, the Cabinda Provincial Court convicted Mr. José Marcos Mavungoto six years' imprisonment on charges of “rebellion”. The latter was accused ofbeing involved in the organisation of a demonstration and being associated witha group of men allegedly found with leaflets and explosives on the eve of thedemonstration.

“José Marcos Mavungo is another victim of Angola'smethods of manufacturing vulnerability. Judicial harassment and unfair trialsare often used methods by the authorities that do not tolerate dissent. This situation must come to anend and Angola must commit to itsobligation to respect and promote the rights to freedom of expression, opinionand peaceful assembly”, our organisationssaid today.

Mr. Mavungowas arrested on March 14, 2015 for helping out on organising a peacefuldemonstration promoting human rights and denouncing bad governance in Cabindaprovince. He was initially charged with “sedition” but the court found noevidence to indict him and ordered further investigations. On May 27, 2015, hewas formally charged with “rebellion”, but was only informed of his indictmenton June 22. His trial started on August 25, and was marred with severalirregularities. For example, no evidence of his relationship with theabove-mentioned individuals or of his involvement in the production of theleaflets were presented during the trial.

Thisconviction came onlydays after the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on Angola'sauthorities to release all human rights defenders, including Mr. Mavungo, andto drop all charges against them. In June, sixteen individuals were arrestedunder similar charges in the country[1].

Human rights defenders and journalists generally remainexposed to judicial harassment, acts of intimidation, threats and otherrestrictions to their freedom of association and expression in Angola, asdocumented in a recent Observatory fact-finding mission report[2].

The Observatory and AJPD urge Angola's authorities toimmediately and unconditionally release Mr. José Marcos Mavungo as well as allhuman rights defenders arbitrarily detained in Angola.

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OBS) was created in1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objectiveof this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repressionagainst human rights defenders.

For moreinformation, please contact:

• FIDH: Arthur Manet: + 33143552518

• OMCT:Miguel Martín Zumalacárregui: +41228094924

•AJPD: Maria Lúcia da Silveira: +244923552478

[1] See Observatory Urgent Appeal AGO 001 / 0615 / OBS 053.

[2] The report is available for download on FIDH and OMCT websites: https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/angola_obs_eng_19_mars_2015_ok.pdf

http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/reports-and-publications/angola/2015/03/d23045/.