An Angolan journalist, Domingos da Cruz, is facing trial on a charge of inciting civil disobedience in a newspaper article he wrote four years ago.
The article, headlined "When war is necessary and urgent", was published in the independent weekly, Folha 8, in August 2009. It accused the president, José Eduardo dos Santos, and his party, the MPLA, of being authoritarian, corrupt and insensitive to the suffering of the Angolan people.
As a result, da Cruz was charged with offences under a law that endangered the security of the state, which was revoked in 2010.
His defence lawyer has therefore demanded that the charges be withdrawn and, at a hearing on 14 June, the judge sitting at the Luanda provincial court appeared to agree.
He said there were severe irregularities in the government's case. But he did not abandon the trial, deciding instead to adjourn it. It is possible da Cruz could face a different charge.
Source: AllAfrica.com
