More than 20 UNITA, Angolan opposition fighters detained since March in Sansa Pombo after conflicts involving rival MPLA supporters, have been released and will await trial at large with periodic presentations to authorities, a party source said.
Speaking to Lusa, the provincial secretary of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in Huye Felix Simão Lucas said the detainees were released on Friday and received “release” on Monday along with a certificate of appearance. to court within 15 days.
According to him, they are accused, among other things, of vandalism and damage to state property.
The group of 26 detainees, according to Felix Simão Lucas, also included activists who were not UNITA fighters, but who did not sympathize with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the ruling party, and with whom they were associated in conflicts during the political act.
According to a UNITA spokesman, there were no arrests at the crime scene.
“At night, around four in the morning, the police went to look for them in the house,” he said, adding that the militants who were not involved in the riots, but were only in the house of other UNITA members, were also taken.
The incidents in Sansa Pombo, one of 16 municipalities in Huihe province in northern Angola, took place on March 19, when supporters of the two political forces involved in various actions crossed paths, participating in riots that resulted in injuries and property damage.
Subsequently, supporters of the “younger brothers” were arrested.
UNITA then considered at a press conference in Luanda that this was a case of “state terrorism and arbitrary arrests” of its fighters.
Images were circulated on social media depicting the incidents in Sansa Pombo, which also led to the vandalism of the Rádio Nacional de Angola (RNA) municipal station.
At the time, UNITA’s provincial secretary in Hue, Felix Simão Lucas, provided photographs showing clashes with some injuries and property damage, citing that the MPLA’s actions duplicated those of UNITA previously reported to the authorities.
Last March, the MPLA blamed UNITA for the clashes, saying it had always been its behavior.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
