Speaking to Lusa, Laurindo Sahana revealed that the trial began on Tuesday and that the defendants were distributed among two sections of the Luanda Provincial Court ("D. Ana Joaquina"), the 6th and 7th, a total of 33 taxi drivers.
Other detainees will be present for trial in the district of Belas, but they are still distributed among several police stations, according to information gathered by the lawyer from the leaders of the taxi associations that called for the strike on Monday.
The defendants are accused of crimes of vandalism of public and private property, but 11 have already been released due to insufficient evidence.
"Yesterday, 11 people were released due to insufficient evidence, since in order for this crime to be proved and its perpetrators held accountable, it is necessary to demonstrate the means used to commit the crime. Since they were not caught in the act and were collected on public roads, it was not possible to prove whether or not they participated in these acts", said Laurindo Sahana.
On Monday, the strike was marked by acts of vandalism and disturbances in various parts of the city, with emphasis on the urban district of Benfica, where a group of people destroyed and burned a building of the action committee of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola. (MPLA) and a Ministry of Health bus.
The court continues during the afternoon with the hearing of the remaining defendants and the trial could end this Wednesday, admitted the lawyer.
In Monday's initial report, the police announced the arrest of 17 people, but have not updated the numbers since that date.
The leaders of taxi drivers' associations complained of being persecuted and denounced arbitrary detentions, estimating that around a hundred of their associates were detained.
