Amnesty International Calls for Immediate Release of Angolan TikToker Neth Nahara
Amnesty International has urged Angolan authorities to release TikToker Ana da Silva Miguel, known as Neth Nahara, who has now spent a full year in prison for criticizing President João Lourenço in a TikTok video. Vongai Chikwanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, stated:
“Angolan authorities must immediately release Ana da Silva Miguel, aka Neth Nahara, as she marks the first anniversary of her arrest. Neth Nahara should never have been locked up in the first place.
“Neth Nahara’s conviction for committing an ‘outrage against the state’ is absurd, and her sentence was unjustly extended from six months to two years following a deeply flawed appeals process. The Angolan authorities are misusing the penal code to silence peaceful dissent. Angola’s constitution explicitly protects free expression, including the right to voice political opinions on social media.
“Authorities must also release four other individuals who have been arbitrarily detained for over ten months solely for peacefully exercising their rights to protest and express themselves.”
Background
On 13 August 2023, Angolan authorities arrested Neth Nahara at her home in Luanda after she posted a live video on TikTok criticizing President Lourenço. The following day, a first-stage court convicted her of “outrage against the state, its symbols, and bodies” under Article 333 of Angola’s penal code. She was sentenced to six months in prison and fined one million Kwanza (approximately 1,200 USD).
On 27 September 2023, an appeals court extended her sentence to two years at the request of the public prosecutor. The court denied Neth Nahara’s legal team the opportunity to counter-appeal, as legally prescribed, and has yet to respond to their complaint regarding the flawed legal process.
During her imprisonment, authorities denied Neth Nahara her daily HIV medication for eight months.
Angolan authorities have repeatedly invoked Article 333 of the penal code to justify the arbitrary detention of critics. Four other activists—Adolfo Campos, Hermenegildo Victor José (also known as Gildo das Ruas), Abraão Pedro Santos (also known as Pensador), and Gilson Moreira (also known as Tanaice Neutro)—remain in prison after being arrested on 16 September 2023 while attempting to join a demonstration in Luanda.
