Human Rights Watch, World Report 2025.

Country Report: Angola (Part 2)

Freedom of the Media, Expression and Association 

​On August 29, President Lourenco signed two laws that fail to meet international human rights standards and severely restrict freedoms of the media, expression, and association. The new law on the Crimes of Vandalism of Public Goods and Services provides prison terms of up to 25 years for people who participate in protests that result in vandalism and service disruptions. The new National Security law authorizes government security forces to prohibit public or private radio stations from broadcasting and to disrupt some telecommunication services under “exceptional circumstances” without a court order, which would seriously curtail media freedom. 

The United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Gina Romero, had urged Angola’s government and National Assembly not to adopt legislation that could be used limit basic rights. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists said the bill could “severely undermine press freedom, further exposing journalists to harassment, intimidation, and censorship by authorities.” 

Crackdown on Peaceful Protests 

Angolan police arbitrarily detained peaceful activists and protesters throughout the year. Some of the detainees were later released without charge, while others were acquitted in court for lack of evidence. 

In April, a court in Luanda acquitted 33 pastors and workers of the Pentecostal Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD) who were detained during a peaceful protest against the new leadership of the church. State prosecutors charged the group with disturbing a religious gathering, participating in a riot, disobeying police instructions, and offenses to physical integrity. The judge ruled that he found no evidence for the crimes. 

In June, authorities released without charges, 11 activists arrested by police during a peaceful protest against government policies, which in their opinion were “impoverishing Angolans.” The group also called for the release of political prisoners. 
Authorities detained and later released after several hours without charge dozens of activists and protesters who peacefully demonstrated against the new vandalism law in August. The police also detained journalists who covered the protests and seized their work equipment. 

Poor Prison Conditions 

Angolan prisons continued to experience overcrowding. The 43 prison units across the country have capacity for 22,554 inmates. The current prison population stands at 24,068 prisoners, half of them in preventive or pre-trial detention. The national director for human rights, Yannick Bernardo has blamed excessive cases of preventive detention as the main cause of the overcrowding. 

Authorities struggled to implement alternatives to prison time, introduced with the new penal code of 2020, including community service and house arrests. 

Prison authorities reportedly committed abuses against four jailed activists who were convicted and sentenced, together with three others, by a Luanda court in September 2023 for “insulting the president” following their arrest just three days before, ahead of a planned protest. Amnesty International accused Angolan authorities of the deliberate denial of medical care to the activists, including urgent surgery, which may amount to torture or other ill-treatment. 

Human Rights Watch, World Report 2025. New York.