"Justice was done" said Arão Tempo, in statements to the Lusa news agency, lamenting the excess of preventive detention of the activists in the judicial phase, for not having been issued the order in the foreseen deadline, of eight days.
"Furthermore, the Public Prosecutor's Office, in its indictment, always indicted the defendants for the crime of rebellion, outrage against the state and criminal association, [but] come the day of discussion and trial, the defense demonstrated that a crime of rebellion was unfounded, that there was no event constitutive of the offense (...) for simple pamphlets, even if they were pasted, could not be indicted and charged with the crime of rebellion," he said.
For the charge of outrage, continued the lawyer, no elements constituting an offense were also proven, and on the criminal association, Arão Tempo advocated that the Constitution of the Republic itself confers rights of freedom of expression, opinion, and even political activities.
"Finally, the judge found that the crimes of which they were accused were not proven, which substantiates the acquittal of the defendants of instance," he stressed.
The lawyer stressed that the Public Ministry appealed the acquittal decision of the Provincial Court of Cabinda, known on April 21, so they will await review by the Supreme Court.
"In the case that the response considers unfounded the crimes of which they were indicted and accused, then, necessarily there will be a procedure of reparation of obligations, an indemnification," he said.
Arão Tempo stressed that the prosecutors had "a political motivation" and "were carried away by emotion," without having the time to have the freedom to consider the complaint that was made against the defendants.
"It is necessary that a magistrate of the Public Ministry, the guarantor of legality, has all the necessary elements to make a profound appreciation, before accusing, before promoting a criminal process. It is a shame for Angola that people are arrested in an abusive and illegal way, when we have magistrates who already have a degree, a doctorate, courses, seminars, and this is an insult to the knowledge that they have in criminal matters", he considered.
The case dates back to June 2020, when three civic activists from Cabinda province, in the north of the country, were arrested and charged with the crimes of rebellion, outrage to the State and criminal association, and were held in preventive detention until February this year, when the Provincial Court of Cabinda ordered their immediate release, "because there are no justifiable reasons for the extension of the term of preventive detention.
The defendants Maurício Gime, 31 years old, André Bônzela, 29 years old, and João Mampuele, 42 years old, were at that time until the trial obliged to reside in the province, to present themselves at the court's registry office every Tuesday at 10 o'clock, every two weeks, without permission to leave the province if they did not have the judge's authorization.
The indictment described that on June 28 Maurício Gime and André Bônzela were found pasting A4 pamphlets, with the words: "Abaixa as Armas, Abaixa a Guerra em Cabinda, Cabinda não é Angola, Queremos Diálogo, Viva Liberdade, Viva o Povo de Cabinda".
According to the indictment, André Bônzela, who was in possession of a briefcase, was searched and "it was found inside some A4 pamphlets with the same content as those that were already glued and white glue, and for this reason they were forwarded to the SIC [Criminal Investigation Service]."
"As for the defendant João da Grança Mampuele, he was referred to the SIC because a pamphlet of the same movement (UCI) [Union of Cabindans for Independence] was found on the wall of his residence and also in the context of the search and seizure of this, a telephone and five pages were found and seized with sayings ("The Five Machiavellian Strategies of the Enemies of Cabinda to End the Independentist Tendencies and the UCI Trusting in God, United We Shall Win! Long Live Dialogue, Vina Justice and Long Live Freedom!"; (UN Recognizes Conflict in Cabinda - José Marcos Mavungo)," the statement read.
Maurício Gimbi is the leader of the UCI, a political organization created in 2018, with André Bônzela as vice president, while João Mampuela is the director of the president's office.
