Illegal confiscation of assets owned by Carlos Manuel de São Vicente following an illegitimate and politically motivated conviction
Geneva / Paris, 3 November 2023
On 25 October 2023, the Angolan authorities began to enforce the illegitimate conviction by confiscating assets owned by Carlos Manuel de São Vicente, starting with the IRCA (acronym for “Irene and Carlos”) property in Luanda.
Formal confiscation of Carlos Manuel de São Vicente’s entire Angolan patrimony has begun on 25 October 2023 as part of the enforcement of a politically motivated conviction that was plagued with procedural and human rights violations, amongst which a file devoid of any evidence, a conviction for an offense solely applicable to public officials even though Carlos Manuel de São Vicente holds no public position, a prohibited retroactive application of criminal provisions, or a ban to Carlos Manuel de São Vicente’s lawyer to represent him during his trial.
However, the Angolan authorities did not wait for that final conviction to confiscate and allocate to themselves assets owned by Carlos Manuel de São Vicente. Confiscation of the IRCA building on 25 October 2023 is merely the continuation of a long series of illegal expropriation measures that begun way before any final judgment had been rendered against Carlos Manuel de São Vicente.
Most recently, on 31 August 2023, the Swiss Supreme Court refused to grant assistance to Angola as it has been unable to guarantee the independence and impartiality of its judiciary authorities in the illegitimate criminal proceedings conducted against Carlos Manuel de São Vicente.
This news also comes amidst a ruling dated 3 October 2023 from the Angolan Constitutional Court declaring that the Presidential decree n° 69/21 of 16 March 2021 is unconstitutional. This Presidential decree provided that 10% of any assets confiscated by the judiciary authorities shall be allocated to themselves, thereby directly compromising their impartiality and the fundamental right of due process. Conveniently, the unconstitutionality was declared only shortly after the conviction of Carlos Manuel de São Vicente became final.
To top it off, the actions of the Angolan authorities are in disregard of a supranational body that also decided to take up the matter and is currently reviewing the legality of Carlos Manuel de São Vicente’s detention due to those same human rights concerns.
From the outset of this case, Carlos Manuel de São Vicente firmly claimed his innocence and denounced the proceedings as politically motivated, unfounded and disrespectful of the rights of defense. François Zimeray, the lawyer of Carlos Manuel de São Vicente who was able to see first-hand those deeply concerning violations, condemns the actions of the Angolan authorities: “We are deeply disappointed that the Angolan authorities continue to proceed with an illegitimate conviction, which is a severe blow to a fair and equitable justice, not only to Carlos Manuel de São Vicente, but also to the Angolan people as a whole. These politically motivated proceedings should not stand, and we demand the immediate release of Carlos Manuel de São Vicente, who is in prison for already more than 3 years for an offense he did not commit”.
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