New York, March 25, 2015 - The
Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Angolan authorities to drop all
charges against journalist Rafael Marques de Morais.
Marques de Morais told CPJ
today that when he arrived in court on Tuesday for his scheduled hearing on
charges of criminal defamation, he was told 15 additional charges of criminal defamation had been filed
against him. His trial was postponed until April 23. He said it was unclear if
the April 23 proceedings would address only some or all of the 24 charges he
now faces.
Marques de
Morais told CPJ that the initial charges of defamation carry up to nine years
in prison and each of the 15 new charges carry up to four months in prison. He
faces up to 14 years in prison, if convicted of all the charges.
“Rafael
Marques de Morais has had to contend with this criminal defamation case for
more than two years. The new set of charges added this week underscore that the
Angolan authorities want to ensnare the journalist in lengthy legal
proceedings, wear down his resistance, and deter others from critical
reporting," said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Sue Valentine. "We
urge Angolan authorities to drop the charges and begin a process to reform its
outdated criminal defamation laws.”
Marques de
Morais's trial stems from a criminal
defamation suit filed against him following the release of his book, Blood
Diamonds: Torture and Corruption in Angola. Published in Portugal in 2011,
the book documents allegations of murders, torture, forced displacement of
civilian settlements, and intimidation of inhabitants of the diamond-mining areas of the Lundas region of Angola, which was a
Portuguese colony until 1975. The book also claims that guards from a private
security firm and members of the Angolan military are responsible for the
torture and killings, according to news reports.
After his
book was published, seven Angolan generals filed a criminal defamation suit
against him in Portugual. In February 2013, the Portuguese Prosecution Service
chose not to pursue the case, with the prosecutor stating "the author's
intention is clearly not to offend but to inform," according to news reports. According
to Marques de Morais, neither he, nor his lawyers were made aware of the
additional charges until they appeared in court on Tuesday.
Last week,
Marques de Morais received a Freedom of
Expression award from the London-based group Index on Censorship.
For more
data and analysis on Angola, visit CPJ's Angola page here.
CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard
press freedom worldwide.
Media
contacts:
Sue Valentine
Africa Program Coordinator
Kerry
Paterson
Africa Research Associate
Email: kpaterson@cpj.org
Peter Nkanga
West Africa Representative
Email: pnkanga@cpj.org
Tom Rhodes
East Africa Representative
Email: trhodes@cpj.org
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