According to lawyers François Zimeray and Jessica Finelle, Angola violated the "principles enshrined in the Human Rights Charter, in particular with regard to the rules of a fair trial and the presumption of innocence, as well as the conditions of detention" of the businessman, who has been in detention since 22 September last year.
In a note sent to Lusa, the lawyers criticize "the arbitrary nature of the preventive detention of Carlos de São Vicente, under particularly difficult conditions" and which, they consider, "clearly has no legal basis".
In addition, they add, the businessman "is in imminent danger of life, exposed to the risk of contamination by covid-19, due to the very weak state of health since the beginning of preventive detention" and point out that "serious violations by the Angolan authorities of the international norms regarding the right to a fair trial and repeated violations of the rights of the defense as well as the right to the presumption of innocence ".
The court action, based in Banjul, The Gambia, follows another letter sent to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, a referral body of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the 9th March, and it says that the African commission must "take precautionary measures under Article 100 of its Rules of Procedure and order the immediate release" of the businessman.
"Honor and respect for justice are at the heart of African values; Angolan authorities are now trampling on these values; our action is another step in the defense of the fundamental rights of Carlos de São Vicente and we have confidence in the African Commission on Human Rights Humans to end the abuses that are occurring on the part of the Angolan State ", wrote the lawyer François Zimeray.
The lawyers denounce the "clearly political nature of the accusations unleashed under strong social pressure to which the Angolan Government gave way, making businessman Carlos São Vicente the ideal scapegoat for the problems that threaten the reelection of President João Lourenço, greatly weakened by suspicions of corruption. ".
Furthermore, they argue that the detention, which has lasted for more than six months, "puts their physical and mental health at risk and is gradually revealing itself as blackmail to plunder the wealth and property of one of the biggest investors of the Angolan economy ".
Carlos de São Vicente, owner of the AAA group of companies, one of the largest private conglomerates in Angola, and holding for several years Sonangol's insurance and reinsurance monopoly, was formally accused of crimes of embezzlement, money laundering and tax fraud, having been notified of the prosecutor's order on 17 March.
The Attorney General's Office also requested the freezing of bank accounts and the seizure of assets of Irene Neto, daughter of the first President, Agostinho Neto, and the businessman's wife.
