"The Angolan authorities must immediately release Ana da Silva Miguel, also known as Neth Nahara, on the first anniversary of her arrest, as she should never have been arrested," warned Amnesty International's (AI) deputy regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Vongai Chikwanda, quoted in a statement.
For this representative of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Neth Nahara's conviction for having committed an "outrage against the State is absurd".
"Her sentence was extended from six months to two years after a flawed appeal process," he said.
Chikwanda also said that "the Angolan authorities are abusing the penal code" to try to silence dissent, which he described as peaceful, arguing that the Angolan Constitution explicitly protects freedom of expression, which includes the expression of political opinions on social media.
On August 13, 2023, authorities arrested Neth Nahara at her home in Luanda after she broadcast a live video on TikTok targeting President João Lourenço, the NGO recalled.
The following day, Angola's first instance court convicted her of "insulting the State, its symbols and organs" under Article 333, it added.
The court therefore sentenced her to six months in prison and fined her one million kwanzas.
On September 27, Angola's second instance court increased the sentence to two years, following an appeal filed by the Public Prosecutor's Office, it continued.
"The court did not authorize Neth Nahara's lawyers to counter-argue the appeal, as legally required, and did not respond to her complaint about the flawed proceedings," it lamented.
Speaking to Lusa, Ana da Silva Miguel's lawyer explained that it was not possible to appeal to the Supreme Court since the sentence was less than three years, highlighting that this was the first conviction based on events that occurred on TikTok, a short video sharing network.
During Neth Nahara's arrest, the authorities denied her daily medication for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) for eight months, he stressed.
"The Angolan authorities have repeatedly used Article 333 of the Penal Code to justify the arbitrary detention of critics," he said.
"The authorities must also release four other people who were arbitrarily detained for more than ten months solely for peacefully exercising their human rights to protest and expression," he stressed.
According to Amnesty International, four activists – Adolfo Campos, Hermenegildo Victor José, Abraão Pedro Santos and Gilson Moreira – remain in prison after being detained by the police on 16 September 2023, when they were trying to participate in a demonstration in Luanda.
