The government of President José Eduardo dos Santos continued to violate human rights in Angola despite several new pledges to improve its record. In March, the Angolan government said it would accept many of the recommendations resulting from the Universal Periodic Review of the country held by the United Nations Human Rights Council in October 2014. In the same month, it passed a restrictive law regulating the work of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Security forces continued to crack down on independent media, human rights activists, and other critics through criminal defamation lawsuits, arbitrary arrests, unfair trials, intimidation, harassment, and surveillance. Two prominent human rights activists were sentenced to prison terms following unfair trials, sending a clear message that dissident voices would not be tolerated.

Security forces arbitrarily arrested and used excessive force against critics of the government, in addition to stopping a number of peaceful anti-government protests and other gatherings. In June, police arrested 15 activists who had gathered to read and discuss books on peaceful resistance. In Huambo province in April, police killed an unknown number of followers of a religious sect during an operation to arrest their leader.

Freedom of Expression

Freedom of expression continued to be severely restricted in Angola due to government repression, censorship, and self-censorship in state media and in private media outlets controlled by ruling party officials. There were some slight openings in 2015 when some media outlets, including state television TPA and private TV channel Zimbo, began to allow opposition and civil society groups to participate in their weekly live discussions on human rights, security, and youth activism. However, such public discussions on these sensitive topics remained extremely rare.

The government continued to regularly use criminal defamation laws and other abusive laws to silence journalists. In March, the minister of justice and human rights, Rui Jorge Mangueira, welcomed the concerns raised about the right to freedom of expression in Angola by the Human Rights Council, but insisted that current provisions on defamation in the country's constitution were compliant with international standards. The Angolan government defended the constitutional provisions on defamation, slander, and similar offenses, saying it protects the interests of the offended party and does not violate or restrict the right to freedom of expression.