As his trial begins, Carlos Manuel de São Vicente’s lawyers are calling on the Angolan justice to ensure a fair trial
Geneva / Paris, 22 January 2022– On the eve of the Angolan businessman Carlos Manuel de São Vicente’s trial in Luanda, Angola, his lawyer François Zimeray recalls the context in which the investigation took place and calls on the Angolan justice to ensure a fair trial.
It is essential to remember that the rules on fair trial were breached on multiple occasions during the investigation led by the office of the Angolan Public Prosecutor. First, Carlos Manuel de São Vicente has not benefited from the presumption of innocence. A concerted campaign of defamation directed against him was unleashed in the Angolan press, where he was presented to the public opinion as guilty, making him an ideal scapegoat for the country’s difficulties.
According to François Zimeray, lawyer of Carlos Manuel de São Vicente, “He has been presented in the Angolan press as guilty even before his trial. The presumption of innocence has been treated with scorn, day after day. He does not claim to be above the law, however the Angolan prosecutors have denied him an effective defence, without which there cannot be any fair trial.”
Mr São Vicente has been held in custody in Luanda since 22 September 2020. His lawyers have criticized his conditions of detention, defining them “contrary to any idea of justice or dignity” and denounced the multiple breaches of fundamental rights he has suffered. They filed a complaint for arbitrary detention against Angola with both the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In their submissions, the lawyers denounce both this “detention, considered as a blackmail, and the related legal proceedings that are clearly motivated by political considerations”.
The lawyers also explain that the maximal duration of pre-trial detention provided by Angolan law has expired. Therefore, Mr São Vicente should have been released on 23 November 2021. He’s however kept in custody in Luanda, in blatant breach of the law.
As Mr São Vicente awaits the start of his trial at the district court in Luanda, his lawyer François Zimeray comments: “Although the investigation led by the office of the Angolan Public Prosecutor was biased and in no way impartial or independent, I still want to have trust in Angola’s justice. I sincerely hope that all these breaches will be denounced and condemned by the judges. It is their role to judge the case in front of them impartially and independently. I will be following the trial very closely and I will not be the only one: many at the United Nations and the African Commission on Human Rights will be looking at what happens in court and I truly hope that a different truth will emerge as the hearings progress”.
Mr São Vicente has always proclaimed his innocence and strongly denied the accusations raised against him. He has fully cooperated with the criminal authorities in order to allow the truth to emerge.
He has worked honestly in the insurance and reinsurance sector in Angola for years and at no time has he used or benefited from public funds. He also contributed to the design, development and consolidation of an insurance and reinsurance system for the oil industry activities, which has been highly beneficial for the State of Angola.
His success is the result of the innovative ideas he implemented, the importance of the risks insured and his outstanding management of those risks. His insurance and reinsurance activities have been properly accounted for, audited, supervised and examined by the various supervisory authorities in the countries in which they took place and have been carried out in full compliance with the applicable law.
Mr São Vicente’s trial will begin on 26 January 2022 at 9:00 AM before the Luanda district court.
His lawyer François Zimeray will hold a press conference on 24 January 2022 at 11:00 PM CET, by videoconference.
Contact
Email: contact@carlosdesaovicente.com
For more information: www.carlosdesaovicente.com