In 2025, Angolan journalist Daniel Frederico fled his home country for
fear
that he would be jailed for defamation for an article that he did not write.
His fears were realized on October 2, 2026, when he was given a
14-month sentence
, despite his absence, for a 2022 report written and published by another media outlet. Frederico, editor of the Reporter Angola news site, told CPJ from exile that his only ‘crime’ was to meet the prosecutor mentioned in Angola Online’s article to hear his response to the allegations made against him.
“We are appealing this unjust conviction,” Frederico’s lawyer Antonio Martins told CPJ. “He went to get commentary from the complainant about a story that was already circulating, and got sued for it.”
Frederico’s legal headaches are far from over. In July, an Angolan Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) agent phoned and asked him to attend a hearing into “a matter of interest,” while refusing to identify himself or provide any further information.
Frederico soon found out that he and his website administrator were under investigation for defamation over a five-year-old
article
that criticized transport minister Ricardo Abreu. Frederico believes this latest case was opened to intimidate him ahead of next year’s elections. Angolans are due to
vote
in a new president as João Lourenço is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.
“They [Angolan authorities] know that the largest websites are run by the diaspora and they want to instill fear, especially during elections,” Frederico told CPJ, adding that such vexatious cases are used by “those with political and economic power to defend themselves against what’s in the constitution in Articles 40 and 44 — freedom of the press and freedom of expression.”
Abreu replied to CPJ’s September 23 text message with a request for additional details about CPJ’s report, which CPJ provided, and said he would respond. He had not done so by the time of publication.
Journalist
… [more]
