Speaking to Lusa, the lawyer for Ana da Silva Miguel, better known as Neth Nahara, the name she adopted as an influencer, said that the sentence is unappealable, as it is not possible to appeal to the Supreme Court if the sentence is less than three years, highlighting that this is the first fact-based conviction to occur on TikTok, a short video sharing network.
"The legislation is quite ambiguous and talks about the Internet", he said.
Initially, Neth Nahara had been sentenced, on August 14, for committing the crime of outrage, to six months in prison and a court fee of 100 thousand kwanzas.
But the Luanda Court of Appeal, which rejected the defense's appeal, increased the sentence following the appeal filed by the Public Ministry, having decided that the influencer will have to serve two years in prison and pay compensation to the offended party - the President, João Lourenço – one million kwanzas "for the non-material damage caused".
For the MP, the initial sentence was too "benevolent" since the defendant would practice the same acts again "since she frequently uses alcoholic beverages and drugs".
The ruling, dated September 27, 2023, reads that Neth Nahara used his TikTok account to express himself about the governance of the President of the Republic, accusing him of relations "with white people", of "anarchy and disorganization" which "are irritating everyone".
The influencer continued with insults and criticisms about the lack of school, housing and work, ending by saying: "If Neth dies, it's the Angolan system and the white people, those blondes with blue eyes, these are the devils."
In assessing the judicial measure of the penalty, the court understood that, in the current social context, "there are many times that people use certain digital platforms that (...) offend rights", reaffirming the need for a custodial sentence.
On the other hand, the situation of drunkenness "does not eliminate the responsibility" of the defendant, as the aforementioned condition has not been proven.
Despite taking into account mitigating factors, such as the fact that she is a primary defendant, has expressed regret and has minor children, "they do not justify the lenient decision", for the judges of the Luanda Court of Appeal.
"The defendant in the community is known as a user and a frequent user of this type of socially inappropriate conduct", the ruling also states, which highlights the need for criminal prevention or prophylaxis.
Furthermore, the defendant "is aware that freedom of expression is limited by the rights to a good name" and "wanted to achieve a high number of views, taking advantage of the fact that she is digitally influenced, with some recognized ability to influence public opinion", in this case using offensive words against the head of state, a fact that "makes his conduct more objectionable".
As aggravating factors, they highlight "the quality of the offended party", the intensity of the intention, the feeling of hatred, contempt and xenophobia expressed and the personal conditions of the defendant "who reveals that she is a person with a medium level of education.
The new Angolan Penal Code, which came into force in February 2021, provides in its article 333 a prison sentence of six months to three years or a fine of 60 to 360 days for "whoever, publicly, and with the intention of offending , outrage by words, images, writings, drawings or sounds (...) the President of the Republic, or any other sovereign body".
