Angola
In Angola public freedoms are still suffocated by State that uses the Police to shrink the space of human rights activists and other Angolan peaceful movements. Freedom of assembly and freedom of association were curtailed by State in the run up to the 23rd August 2017 general elections. Protests were prohibited for organizations or individuals that were not directly supporting political parties or other entities involved in elections. Also, Police prevented a protest organized by Movimento Do Protectorado Da Lunda Tchokwe on 29th July 2017. The incidents against Human Rights Defenders and restrictive laws are the two other methods used by the Angolan State to repress human rights movements and shrink the space of civil society in Angola. Police attacked Journalist Salgueiro Vicente of Radio Ecclesia while he was reporting on bad smell that was coming from the onshore gas and oil supplier SONIL’s logistical base in Luanda and which had made people faint[1].
The press law, the new television law, broadcast law and journalist code of conduct and statutes of the Angolan Regulatory Body for Social Communication were passed by parliament in November 2016. They enable government to tight control over all media information and communication organizations thereby restricting freedom of expression. The broad description on defamation empowers the State to prosecute to arbitrary prosecute Human Rights Defenders and media practitioners who report on illegal activities in which authorities are implicated[2].
[1] https://monitor.civicus.org/newsfeed/2017/08/18/angola-protests-banned-august-general-elections/