Angola's Minister of the Interior, Manuel Homem, said this Wednesday, at the end of the Council of Ministers meeting, that 1,214 people were arrested during the riots that took place on Monday and Tuesday in Luanda, as part of the three-day strike declared by taxi drivers protesting the fuel price hike.
In a statement, the Bar Association indicated that these teams of lawyers will be organized "to ensure that these trials take place with respect for the principles of legality, impartiality, and due process, as established by the Constitution of the Republic of Angola."
For the Bar Association, "the presence of lawyers in these proceedings is essential to the credibility of the judicial system and to ensure that procedural acts are carried out in compliance with citizens' legal guarantees."
Luanda experienced relative calm this Wednesday, after experiencing episodes of violence, riots, looting of warehouses and commercial establishments, and destruction of public and private property on Monday and Tuesday, following the taxi drivers' strike, now in its third and final day.
In his assessment, Manuel Homem indicated that, in the first two days, there were 22 deaths, 197 injuries, and 1,214 arrests. The losses and damage caused to the establishments that were vandalized and looted have not yet been calculated.
