Angola: Doctors Protest Against Police Brutality

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 08:24 am

A Doctor Mysteriously Dies in Police Custody

Angola’s Doctors’ Union led around a hundred protesters in a march thru the city centre in Luanda on Saturday to denounce police brutality and demand an investigation into the suspicious demise of Silvio Dala in police custody after he used to be arrested for using except a face mask on September 1 — i.e. supposedly breaching anti-coronavirus regulations.

Police declare Silvio Dala, 35, suffered a coronary heart attack while he was in custody. However, questions had been raised after Dala’s physique was despatched to the morgue protected in blood with scarring to his head.

Many Angolans Are Fed Up

Lenia Silva, a patient, aired out her frustrations with the Angolan police, “Who do we finally have to flip to, who do we have to ask for help? Who are you that we need? Police, stop doing this. The clinical neighborhood is certainly sad, we are clearly sad.”

Protesting health practitioner Rodrigo Joao deplored the loss of life of a fellow healthcare expert who ought to have “served the country for many years.” He said while denouncing the officers’ lack of “humanity,” “We want to draw interest to this mistake and correct it so that a citizen will not lose his life next time.”

At the quit of the march, which saw thousands of demonstrators chanting and hanging visual shows of faux blood-stained scientific garments, the Doctors’ Union president Adriano Manuel reiterated calls for clarity around the occasions of Dala’s death, “We will pursue our mission,” Manuel vowed as he addressed the crowd. “We will carry (the case) to court subsequent week because we have concrete proof that our colleague did no longer die of a heart attack.”

Coronavirus Guidelines

Angola’s authorities imposed sanitary restrictions in March to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic with soldiers deployed to help police put into effect the new rules.

But many Angolans persevered to general mass markets and water points breaching curfews and gathering bans — generally out of necessity. As for many, poverty and lack of get right of entry to to primary offerings outweighs concerns about doubtlessly catching the virus.

According to Amnesty International, at least seven younger men have been shot dead by way of police and navy officers between May and July.

Doctor Dala is believed to be the state-of-the-art sufferer of security forces violently enforcing lockdown regulations in the southwest African country and human beings are calling for the Interior Minister to resign as they demand that the government put police reforms in place.