Employees of the first and second instance courts, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, and the Attorney General’s Office had begun their march at the Luanda District Court to demand better working conditions, promotion prospects and pay. The PNA stopped a protest by activists planned to take place at the Largo da Sagrada Familia church in Luanda on 6 April, to call for the release of the activist Gilson da Silva Moreira (also known as Tanaice Neutro), and to denounce the abusive use of administrative detention against activists. Gilson da Silva Moreira was arrested on 13 January 2022 on allegations of “outraging the state, its symbols, and organs”. In October 2022, he was given a suspended prison sentence of one year and three months but was kept in jail until his release on 23 June 2023, following pressure from national and international civil society organizations. PNA officers used excessive or unnecessary force when they disrupted a march on 22 April, organized by the Movement of Angolan Students in Luanda. They arrested five activists, injuring one of them. The protesters were demanding a peaceful resolution to a salary dispute between the government and the National Union of Higher Education Teachers (SINPES). On 17 June, PNA officers used tear gas against hundreds of demonstrators in Luanda and Benguela to prevent them from peacefully protesting at the fuel price rise of 30 May, parliament’s approval of the NGO bill and the Luanda City Council’s 22 May decision to ban women vendors (zungueiras) from trading on the streets. There were reports of unspecified numbers of protesters being detained and wounded in Luanda. On 16 September, the PNA broke up a peaceful demonstration by motorcycle taxi drivers protesting at restrictions imposed by the Luanda City Council on various routes in the city. Seven civil society activists were detained, including Gilson da Silva Moreira (see above), Gildo das Ruas, Adolfo Campos and Abrao Pedro dos Santos. On 19 September, a Luanda court sentenced them The State of the World’s Human Rights to two years and five months’ imprisonment each. UNLAWFUL KILLINGS Security forces killed at least five protesters and one bystander in their attempt to stop protests. On 15 February, the PNA confirmed that a 16-year-old boy, known only as Serginho, who was killed the day before in Luanda’s Uije neighbourhood, had been shot by a police officer. The police said he was shot when officers tried to prevent clashes between rival groups during a protest by residents demanding better road conditions. The boy was not participating in the protest. According to the police, investigations to identify the officer responsible for the killing and bring him to account were ongoing at the end of the year. Five people, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed and eight injured by PNA officers at a protest in Huambo province on 5 June. The protest had been organized by motorcycle taxi drivers against the fuel price rise. Police used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the crowd and later said the killings and injuries were “unavoidable” and regrettable.1 The authorities did not launch an investigation into the events. ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS On 28 January, the PNA arrested 12 young people as they gathered for a march at the Largo das Heroínas monument in Luanda to demand the release of activists they considered to be political prisoners. The police dumped three of them – Laurinda Gouveia, Geraldo Dala and Matulunga César – 60km from Luanda, in Bengo province. There was no information as to the fate of the remaining nine. Five activists were arrested by the PNA on 2 June in Benguela province, in front of the office for deputies of the provincial Benguela government, for protesting at parliament’s approval of the NGO bill. They were released by a court on 6 June, after paying a fine of AOA 50,000 (about USD 83). 79