Posts Tagged ‘Angola’
October 12th, 2011
An
Angolan journalist is facing a year
in prison for libel. William Tonet, editor of the newspaper
Folha 8, was accused of libel after he published allegations of corruption among the country’s military elite. Tonet accused three generals of the Angolan Armed Forces of self-enrichment and power abuse in a 2008 news article. In a court ruling on Monday, the journalist was given five days to pay 10 million kwanzas (€77,000)
in damages, or face a year in prison. The journalist’s lawyer, David Mendes, said the government of Angolan President, Jose dos Santos wants to imprison William Tonet.
September 7th, 2011
Security forces in
Angola attacked journalists at an
anti-government protest on Saturday.
Voice of America‘s Alexandre Neto claimed that he was pushed to the floor by police and unidentified men in plain clothes, who then seized his backpack carrying his mobile phone, camera, passport and driver’s license, none of which have been returned. Security agents also attacked Portuguese journalist António Cascais who was in Angola conducting journalism training, on his way to the protest. Several other journalists, including those from state broadcasters from Portugal and Angola, were attacked during the demonstration.
August 8th, 2011
Adão Tiago, an
Angolan radio journalist for Radio Ecclesia, has been arrested for reporting on an outbreak of mass fainting. The faintings, involving more than 500 school children since April,
have been linked, in some report, to criminals allegedly spraying institutions with gas. The Angolan government has rejected this claim, blaming hysteria triggered by “sensational news reporting” instead. According to the
Committee to Protect Journalists, Radio Ecclesia operates under “intense government pressure and self-censorship”.
April 19th, 2011
A freelance journalist in
Angola has been released on bail. Armando José Chicoca was
sentenced to one year in prison on March 3 for reporting on sexual harassment allegations against a top judicial official. Chicoca spent 33 days in prison and posted bail of $2,500.
March 7th, 2011
Armando José Chicoca, a freelance journalist, has been given a one year
prison sentence and fined US $2,100 for reporting on sexual harassment allegations against a top judicial official. His report, aired on Voice of America, included references to allegations about Antonio Vissandula, the highest judge in the province of Namibe.
October 26th, 2010
A radio commentator renowned for his popular satirical broadcasts
was stabbed in Luanda last Friday. António Manuel Manuel Da Silva is a government critic and his Friday broadcast attacked the Angolan president’s failure to address crime and corruption. The stabbing occurred after Da Silva’s assailant confronted him about his programme. Alexandre Neto, his station’s director, claims Da Silva had recently received two death threats. Since September two other Angolan journalists have been attacked,
one fatally, for criticising the government.
May 7th, 2010
Police in Angola have
threatened the local media after they reported about a senior police officer charged with rape. The 21-year-old woman’s rape occurred on 19 April but the story was made public after Jose Tiaba da Costa, the sub-inspector of Benguela province’s transport police, handed himself 10 days afterwards. The police said the reporting of the alleged crime had damaged their image. A spokesman stated: “This is a common crime and the fact he’s a policeman is not relevant”.
