October 18, 1999
His Excellency Jose Eduardo dos Santos
President of the Republic of Angola
Gabinete da Presidencia da Republica
Luanda, Angola
VIA FAX: + 244-2-339855
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned by the arrest and continued detention of Rafael Marques, a freelance journalist who also represents the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa in Angola.
On October 14, the Angolan police accused Marques of defamation in connection with an article that he published in a July edition of the independent weekly newspaper Agora.In the article, Marques referred to Your Excellency as a “dictator.”
At 6 a.m. on October 16, officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (DNIC) arrested Marques at his Luanda home. Police officers moved Marques to various locations throughout that day, and eventually detained him at the “Labortorio de Criminalista” prison in Luanda.
Marques has apparently been charged under Angola’s notorious Law 7/78, also known as the Law on Crimes Against State Security. As Your Excellency is no doubt aware, Law 7/78 violates Article 35 of the 1992 Angolan Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression. However, the absence of a functioning Constitutional Court in Angola means that Law 7/78 cannot be challenged at this time.
The charge against Marques carries a 2-8 year prison sentence. Marques, who has been refused access to a lawyer and to his family, has gone on hunger strike to protest his detention.
On June 23, 1999, Your Excellency’s Minister of Social Communications wrote to CPJ and assured us that the government of Angola has never intended to “harass any journalist or shut down the private media.” To our dismay, however, the independent press in Angola has undergone even harsher repression since the date of that letter. Your government’s campaign to muzzle the independent press in Angola by harassing and intimidating journalists for carrying out their professional duty violates both the Angolan Constitution and Angola’s obligations under international law.
CPJ strongly urges that Your Excellency do everything in your power to see that Rafael Marques is immediately and unconditionally released. We also ask, once again, that you instruct all officials in the Angolan government and in the security services to ensure that journalists in Angola are free to do their work without fear of reprisal or attack.
Thank you for your attention to these urgent matters. We would warmly welcome your response.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Join CPJ in Protesting Attacks on the Press in Angola
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His Excellency Jose Eduardo dos Santos
President of the Republic of Angola
Gabinete da Presidencia da Republica
Luanda, Angola
VIA FAX: + 244-2-339855