SOJA, in a note of repudiation sent to the General Command of the National Police of Angola (PNA) and sent this Thursday to Lusa, says that the said officers were attacked, last Friday, by police officers in the Court of the Comarca do Cuito, province of Bié, in full enjoyment of the right to strike.
Angolan bailiffs have been on national strike since March 20th due to non-compliance with the points in the list of claims by the employer, the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSMJ) of Angola.
According to the union, both officers, without altering public order or causing any disrespect, were on the front stairs of the building displaying strike posters, when "they were surprised by PNA agents who, without appeal or insult, attacked them".
Then, adds SOJA, the officers were taken to the local picket of the Criminal Investigation Service (SIC), "as if they were delinquents", informing only that "they were following superior orders".
"Because they remained detained from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm local time when they were released with the application of the measure of personal coercion, under an identity and residence term which they were obliged to sign, without having been heard by the public prosecutor", refers in the note.
The union entity also observes, in this note also sent to the Association of Judges of Angola, that the "excessive" use of force by the police constitutes a "gross aggression against the democratic State and the rule of law and, obviously, a clear violation of fundamental rights workers and the dignity of the human person".
SOJA, which called for the strike which drags on until April 14th, is also in solidarity with its members and says that it will continue to monitor the process against the bailiffs, registered with the SIC, and that it will file a criminal complaint " to investigate and hold accountable the perpetrators of these crimes".
Acts of intimidation and coercion by court officials in Luanda were also denounced by SOJA's general secretary, Brito Teixeira, in the first week of the strike.
Better working conditions, career promotions, approval of a new remuneration statute, lack of transport for errands, subsidies and incentives at court level are some of SOJA's claims.
