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Rafael Marques |
Two Angolan journalists were acquitted by a judge on Friday over
an article of accusing a former attorney general of corruption, in a verdict
welcomed by press freedom activists.
Investigative journalist Rafael Marques and editor Mariano
Lourenco faced charges of insulting a public authority over the 2016 piece that
alleged that Joao Maria de Sousa had been involved in an illegal real estate
purchase.
Marques and Lorenco risked a three-year prison term if
convicted.
“This court ruled out of order the prosecutor’s request to
convict the defendants… and therefore decides to send them back to their
families at liberty and peace,” said judge Josina Falcao.
The judge acknowledged that the suspect land sales were “tainted
with irregularities” and that the article fulfilled the journalists’ duty to
inform the public and expose alleged wrongdoing.
“Congratulations. While the whole affair should never have taken
place, (we) welcome this outcome,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
“Let this be the beginning of an era where journalists can work
freely in Angola,” said Human Right Watch researcher Zenaida Machado.
Angolan authorities routinely repress coverage of cases of
corruption involving government officials while the local media face harsh
restrictions, according to Human Rights Watch.
Angola has been led since last year by President Joao Lourenco
who succeeded Jose Eduardo dos Santos after he had ruled for almost four
decades.
Lourenco has sought to distinguish himself from his predecessor
and launched a campaign against corruption which has snared several officials
from the last government.
The Oxford-educated Marques, who runs the news website Maka
Angola, is no stranger to Angola’s courts, having been arrested and detained
several times.
In 2015, he was convicted of defaming military generals in a
book and was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence.
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