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Angola

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From the Communiqué

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War on separatists used as cover to imprison rights defenders and harass journalists

The Angolan government is targeting human rights defenders with intimidation, harassment and detention, says Human Rights Watch. The lethal attack on Togolese football players by Angolan separatist rebels in January was also used as an excuse to round up critics of the government. At least eight activists have been arrested since the attack and journalists have been threatened.

NEW MEDIA LAW FAILS TO PROTECT PRESS FREEDOM

Media coverage of the 2007 elections in Angola will be compromised unless the government brings its press law up to international free expression standards, warns Human Rights Watch.

TWO JOURNALISTS MURDERED

Two Angolan journalists have been killed in the space of eight days, according to Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). "These murders are a reminder of how Angola was an especially dangerous country for the press in the 1990s," says RSF.

ANGOLA URGED TO REFORM PRESS, DEFAMATION LAWS

International legal rights groups have called on Angola to reform its press and defamation laws and comply with a recent UN Human Rights Committee ruling that found the government violated an international human rights treaty when it jailed a journalist for criticising the president.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH SPOTLIGHTS FREE EXPRESSION IN ANGOLA

In 2006, Angola plans to hold its first elections in nearly 15 years. The country is enjoying peace after decades of a brutal civil war in which hundreds of thousands were killed. According to a new report by Human Rights Watch, however, freedom of expression will not fully return as long as the government keeps a firm grip on the media.

IMS Reports Assess Media Situation in Angola, Rwanda

19 August 2003