Complaint against the Angolan justice system: the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers is seized by the defense of Mr. Carlos de São Vicente
PRESS RELEASE
URGENT
Angola – Human Rights
Complaint against the Angolan justice system: the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers is seized by the defense of Mr. Carlos de São Vicente
Geneva, February 28, 2022, the defense of Mr. Carlos Manuel de São Vicente has filed a complaint on February 9, 2022, with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers denouncing “flagrant and repeated violations of the rights of the defense in Angola.
Mr. de São Vicente, provisionally detained since September 22, 2020 in the prison of Viana, Angola, is subject to politically motivated prosecution and is deprived of any right to a fair trial. His lawyers note in particular:
- Violation of the right to an independent and impartial tribunal;
- Violation of the principle that all pre-trial detention is subject to judicial review, since the detention of Mr. de São Vicente and its immediate successive extensions were decided exclusively by the public prosecutor;
- The total irregularity of Mr. de São Vicente’s continued detention, as his deprivation of liberty now exceeds by 80 days the maximum period of 14 months imposed by Angolan law in case of provisional detention;
- The violation of the right not only to the assistance of a lawyer, but above all to the assistance of a freely chosen lawyer, as one of the lawyers appointed was removed from the defense team of Mr. de São Vicente;
- Repeated violations of the right to the presumption of innocence, characterized in particular by the appropriation by the State of some of the property seized in the course of the proceedings.
These serious shortcomings are in addition to the arbitrary detention of Mr. de São Vicente for a year and a half, which has already been the subject of a communication to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. At the time, his lawyers denounced a political and media harassment, making the entrepreneur an ideal scapegoat for the difficulties of a country plagued by corruption.
International human rights NGOs have repeatedly denounced the lack of independence of the Angolan judiciary and the inhumane and degrading conditions of its prisons.
About the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers was established in 1994 to combat attacks on the independence of judges, lawyers and court officials. The Special Rapporteur prepares reports on attacks on the independence of judges and lawyers and provides concrete recommendations to the States concerned. He is thus the independent guardian of a fundamental pillar of the right to a fair trial
Communication to the Special Rapporteur available upon request.
Press contact: