All Africa
WASHINGTON, Jan. 06, 2016 —The American Bar Association Center for Human Rights, Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT France), Front Line Defenders, the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) and the global law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP –– today welcomed Angola: UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention calls for release of human rights activist José Marcos Mavungo the opinion by The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) condemning as arbitrary and in violation of international law, the arrest and conviction of Angolan human rights activist José Marcos Mavungo. The UN WGAD has called on the government of Angola to immediately release José Marcos Mavungo and grant him compensation.
Mavungo was arrested and detained in March 2015 on charges of rebellion for organizing a demonstration on human rights violations and bad governance in the Cabinda region of Angola. He was convicted in September 2015 and sentenced to 6 years in prison.
The petition to the UNWGAD was prepared by the global law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP, submitted by the Southern African Litigation Centre, and supported by ACAT France, the American Bar Association Center for Human Rights and Front Line Defenders. The ABA Center for Human Rights through its Justice Defenders Program, which coordinates pro bono legal support to human rights defenders, recruited Morrison & Foerster LLP to prepare this petition.
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