Executive Summary
In 2020, Angola adopted a new penal code, replacing its 134-year-old criminal statute with provisions that more closely align with international standards. However, the new code has retained a repressive colonial era provision—updated to protect Angola’s government and President from insult, rather than Portugal’s Monarch—that the State has increasingly used to chill speech and punish critics.
Article 333 (Insulting the State, its symbols, and organs) criminalizes public speech that insults “the Republic of Angola, the President of the Republic, or any other Sovereign Body [the National Assembly and the courts].” The language of Article 333 is nearly identical to the language of a similar provision in the 2010 Law of Crimes against State Security, which traces its roots to both a 1978 State Security Law and the colonial-era 1886 penal code. Although the colonial-era crime of insult, and subsequent renditions of the law, were rarely enforced, since its enactment in 2020, media reports have shown that Article 333 has been regularly cited by authorities to interrogate, detain, and/or prosecute its critics. Reported cases include a journalist who criticized the President; an individual who posted an online video critical of the government; activists who planned a public demonstration; an individual who published a TikTok video criticizing the President; and an individual who posted a YouTube video that alleged corruption in the police force. The conduct cited in each of these cases should have been protected under Angola’s constitutional and international human rights obligations. Unfortunately, on its face Article 333 violates Angola’s Constitution and numerous international laws that require restrictions on free expression only when strictly necessary and proportionate for a legitimate aim. The exceptionally broad nature of Article 333 permits the State to unjustifiably punish nearly any public speech it dislikes, creating a chilling effect on discourse, and stifling legitimate criticism of public officials and institutions.
Article 333 is incompatible with Angola’s commitment to be a “democratic state based on the rule of law, [] the sovereignty of the people, . . . [and] pluralism of political expression.” If Angola truly wants to fulfil its constitutional promise to “promote and defend the basic human rights and freedoms of individuals,” its Parliament should take immediate action and repeal Article 333 in its entirety. Pending its repeal, law enforcement agencies and the Public Prosecution service must immediately cease to arrest and prosecute anyone under Article 333. Individuals currently detained under Article 333 must be released and their cases dismissed. Angola’s courts should seize the first opportunity to strike down Article 333 as unconstitutional and individuals convicted under Article 333 should have their judgments vacated.