1st S.O.S. – RELEASE ON MEDICAL, HUMANITARIAN AND LEGAL GROUNDS FOR THE URGENT SALVATION OF MY KIDNEY AND MY LIFE

Object of the 1st S.O.S.

The present S.O.S. aims at the immediate release of Mr. Carlos Manuel de São Vicente (the Applicant).  

The Claimant is exposed to the risk of imminent Loss of Kidney and Left Kidney Function and to Severe Infections and Sepsis, Additional Complications and Death, if he does not perform the Laser Surgery on 16.6.2026. 

The Applicant should have been released several years ago, due to the fulfillment of the legal conditions for parole, a circumstance that aggravates the illegality of his maintenance in prison.

II. Consequences of Lack of Laser Urologic Surgery

Postponing or skipping Laser Urologic Surgery to remove a kidney stone can turn a treatable problem into a medical emergency with permanent risks. 

The main medical consequences include:

1. Loss of Renal Function
   1. Hydronephrosis: The stone can block the flow of urine, causing obstruction and swelling of the kidney.
   1. Chronic kidney failure: prolonged pressure from accumulated urine causes irreversible damage to kidney tissue.
   1. Kidney loss: the kidney may stop working completely, requiring removal or dialysis.
2. Serious Infections and Sepsis
   1. Pyelonephritis: severe infection in the kidney due to the multiplication of bacteria facilitated by stopped urine.
   1. Sepsis: generalized infection when the infection spreads in the bloodstream, it can cause multiple organ failure and, consequently, death.

3.         Additional Complications

• Chronic disabling pain: bouts of recurrent renal colic that severely affect quality of life.
• Stone growth: the stone can continue to grow and occupy the entire kidney.
• Damage to the Ureter: the migration of the stone can cause scarring or stenosis (narrowing) in the urinary canal.

III. Worsening of clinical episodes

In the interval between the Amendment to the Petition and the present 1st S.O.S., the clinical episodes described above worsened, with emphasis on:

• Blood urination (hematuria) in greater quantity and frequency and with greater pain and burning;
• The simultaneous occurrence of diastolic blood pressure (greater than 100 mmHg) and systolic pressure (greater than 180 mmHg) peaks;
• Greater alternation between insomnia and short sleeps of 3 to 4 hours per night.

On 8.5.2026, blood pressure peaked at 220-116 mmHg. 

During this period, there was an outbreak of Cholera in the EPV that had already affected 83 prisoners, despite the prompt intervention of Health, Civil Protection and Firefighters. The outbreak is an indicator of poor hygiene, poor water quality and overcrowding. 

The Applicant warns that his stay in the EPV, in the current clinical conditions, substantially aggravates the risks to his physical integrity and life.

V. Urgency of compliance with international law, the Constitution and the Penal Code

The Applicant reiterates that the State must comply with International Law, the Constitution and the Penal Code, namely:

1. Opinion No. 63/2023 of the United Nations Human Rights Council – Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, of 14.11.2023.
2. the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules),
3. Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Right to Life),
4. Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment),
5. Articles 30, 31 and 63 of the Constitution concerning the rights to life, health, physical integrity and human dignity.
6. paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 59 of the Criminal Code, article 66 and paragraph 2 of article 564 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and article 2 of Law no. 35/22 of 23 December (Amnesty Law) which define the release regimes applicable to the Applicant since 2024.

The Applicant calls on all addressees of this S.O.S. to act expeditiously within the scope of their legal and constitutional competences and not to be complicit in this accumulation of offenses and crimes against the Applicant and his family, namely:

• the repeated violation of all human rights and fundamental guarantees
• the illegal and arbitrary deprivation of liberty
• the illegal dispossession of his property and that of his family
• the political and judicial persecution of his family
• the intrinsic expulsion of his family from Angola
• the vengeful hatred of those involved on 27.5.1977 against the descendants of the late President Dr. António Agostinho Neto
• The denial of justice
• Obstruction of justice
• Prevarication
• attempted homicide by omission or denial of urgent medical assistance already requested since the Petition of 3.21.2026.

Human rights are inherent and do not depend on politics. 

VI. Reiteration of requests

Following what has already been alleged in the Petition of March 21, 2026 and in the Amendment of April 28, 2026, the Applicant, in view of the extreme gravity of the situation and because there are only 24 days left, very respectfully, requests again as a matter of urgency:

1. His immediate release, as he had already served more than two-thirds of his sentence in September 2025, having not benefited from parole in June 2024, when he reached half of the time he was serving it.
2. The authorization to provide urgent medical assistance, to carry out Laser Urologic Surgery in Lisbon, where his family lives, for the removal of the kidney stone and the double J catheter placed in the kidney and ureter, which should take place by June 16, 2026.
3. Also the support for the remaining surgeries and treatments in Lisbon mentioned in detail in VII of the Amendment of 28.4.2026.
4. The return of the 4 family homes (wife and 3 adult children with their families) so that they can return to their land and end their forced and unjust exile. Furthermore, it is urgent to stop the political and judicial persecution of the descendants of the late President Dr. António Agostinho Neto, namely the Applicant’s wife, his children and grandchildren.
5. The adoption of measures to ensure the restoration of the minimum conditions of personal and family dignity.

The Applicant is in a serious and progressively worsening clinical situation, at serious risk of loss of kidney function and risk of life. 

In short: there is a medical emergency, there is excessive imprisonment and there is a legal obligation of the State to release the Applicant and to authorize adequate and timely medical assistance to the Applicant. 

Sincerely, 

Carlos Manuel de São Vicente 

Viana Penitentiary, May 22, 2026