Human rights: the lawyers of Carlos Manuel de São Vicente appeal to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. They denounce the arbitrary detention of the Angolan businessman and the violation of his right to a fair trial

Human rights: the lawyers of Carlos Manuel de São Vicente appeal to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. 
They denounce the arbitrary detention of the Angolan businessman and the violation of his right to a fair trial

16 april 2021 – The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights was seized of a complaint denouncing the arbitrary detention and numerous violations of fundamental rights suffered by the Angolan businessman Carlos Manuel de São Vicente, detained in Angola since 22 September 2020. In spite of being a signatory, since 1990, of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Angola violates in several ways these international standards, recognized by the OAU and the African States. 

In a 47-page brief (available on request), lawyers François Zimeray and Jessica Finelle denounce Angola’s violation of the Charter, in particular the breaches of the rules of fair trial and the presumption of innocence, as well as the conditions of detention, and note in particular:

• The entirely arbitrary nature of Mr. São Vicente’s preventive detention, obviously lacking any legal basis, in particularly difficult conditions.
• The imminent danger faced by Mr. São Vicente due to his deteriorated health condition since his placement in preventive detention, exposed to the risk of Covid-19 contamination and therefore to a risk of death.
• The serious violations by the Angolan authorities of international standards relating to the right to a fair trial and the repeated violations of defense rights and presumption of innocence.

In view of the serious danger to Mr. São Vicente’s health posed by his continued preventive detention, the Commission is requested to take provisional measures pursuant to Art. 100 of its Rules of Procedure and to order Mr. São Vicente’s immediate release.

As underlined by his lawyer François Zimeray, “Respect for dignity, equity and justice are at the heart of African values. The Angolan authorities are trampling these values today. We are witnessing the spoliation of an African entrepreneur by a desperate political regime. Everyone has the right to the respect of his fundamental rights. We appeal to the African Commission of Human Rights to stop the abuses of which Carlos Manuel de São Vicente is a victim and that harm the interests of Angola as well as of all Africa“.

The African Charter on Human and People’s Rights

Created by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1981 under the initiative of Leopold Sedar Senghor, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, key organ of the African Union’s Human and Peoples’ Rights protection mechanism, took office on 2 November 1987. Composed of eleven independent experts “chosen from among African personalities of the highest consideration, known for their high moral character, integrity and impartiality, and with a competence in the field of human and peoples’ rights“, the Commission examines, among other things, periodic reports from States on measures taken to implement the African Charter, conducts fact-finding missions to assess States’ compliance with their obligations, and examines complaints lodged by NGOs or individuals denouncing one or more violations of the African Charter.

For Amnesty International: “Given the scale of gross human rights violations on the African continent, regional human rights bodies play a crucial role in ensuring justice (…) These mechanisms must be protected and fully supported. They are essential means for citizens to have access to justice… »

Since its creation, the Commission has strongly consolidated its actions for the promotion and protection of human rights, to the point that the convictions and recommendations of this institution, anchored in the heart of the African continent, now enjoy unequalled authority.

Summary of the situation

Lawyers François Zimeray and Jessica Finelle denounce the obvious political nature of the proceedings, which were initiated under strong social pressure to which the Angolan government succumbed, making the entrepreneur an ideal scapegoat for the problems that threaten the re-election of President Lourenço, who has been greatly weakened by suspicions of corruption

In fact, the Angolan authorities, who in August 2020 were assuring that they had no evidence to support the charges against Mr. São Vicente, are now persisting in prosecuting him for offenses which, as the Swiss courts pointed out in March 2021, have not been established.

François Zimeray and Jessica Finelle also note that the detention of Mr. São Vicente, in the absence of any control by a judge for more than six months and in conditions “contrary to any idea of justice and dignity” endangering his physical and mental health, are gradually revealing themselves to be a blackmail in view to the spoliation of the fortune and property of one of the most important investors in the Angolan economy.

The Angolan judiciary system, whose lack of independence has long been denounced by international human rights NGOs, having denied Mr. São Vicente access to an independent and impartial tribunal and having deprived him of his right to challenge his detention in the course of a fair proceedings, Mr. São Vicente is now referring the situation to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

About Zimeray & Finelle 

Zimeray & Finelle is an international law firm that combines expertise in complex legal challenges with international diplomacy in the fields of human rights and criminal law.

About Me François Zimeray

Lawyer admitted to the Paris Bar and the International Criminal Court, François Zimeray was French Ambassador in charge of Human Rights, then French Ambassador to Denmark. He first practiced for more than 20 years in a major French law firm and was also a member of the Legal Committee of the European Parliament. In September 2018, he joined forces with Jessica Finelle, a lawyer since 2009 specializing in international criminal law, to create the law firm Zimeray&Finelle, specializing in human rights, criminal law and white-collar crime. In parallel, he established a partnership with a team of lawyers committed to defending human rights at the London law firm Doughty Street Chambers. Together with Jessica Finelle, he obtained a condemnation of Japan by the UN in the Carlos Ghosn case and, recently, of India and the United Arab Emirates. François Zimeray is the author of “J’ai vu partout le même visage”, published by Plon in 2016.

About Me Jessica Finelle

Jessica Finelle is a lawyer admitted to the Paris Bar and a partner at Zimeray&Finelle. She is a specialist in French and International criminal law. She is accredited to the International Criminal Court and is involved in numerous cases where human rights are at stake.  Recently, Jessica Finelle obtained the recognition from the United Nations that the Congolese authorities were arbitrarily detaining General Mokoko, the main opponent of Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s regime.  The UN experts had called on the latter to proceed to the immediate release of the general and compensation for his damages.