Restrictions on press freedom and freedom of expression, violence against journalists, arbitrary arrests, abuses by security forces and a feeling of impunity were some of the problems identified in Angola by the US State Department in 2022.
The report of the government department of the United States of America (USA), released on Monday, pointed out several violations in the field of human rights in Angola last year, noting that it was an election year – in which MPLA, the ruling party since independence in 1975, won with 51% of the votes.
Despite highlighting that the voting took place in a generally “peaceful and credible” manner the document points out some flaws such as the lack of an independent National Electoral Commission and the lack of transparency of the electoral process, in which coverage of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) was “biased” and more extensive than that of other parties.
The US government department also identified law enforcement abuses and arbitrary, extrajudicial, and unlawful killings.
It also pointed to arbitrary arrests and poor prison conditions, which put detainees’ lives at risk due to overcrowding, lack of medical care, corruption, and violence.
The Angolan prisons had a total capacity for 21,000 prisoners, but held approximately 25,000 detainees, of which about 10,000 were in pre-trial detention. Also at issue in the report are restrictions on freedom of expression and the press, including violence, threats of violence or unjustified arrests of journalists, as well as acts of censorship and libel cases.