Africa-Press – Angola. The Council of Ministers approved, this Tuesday (8), the Amnesty Law Proposal, a diploma that provides for the granting of amnesty and general pardon for common or military crimes, punishable by a prison sentence of up to 10 years, committed by national citizens. or foreigners, in the period between 12 November 2015 and 11 November 2022. At the end of the meeting of the Council of Ministers, guided by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, the Minister of Justice and Human Rights said that the proposal excluded , among others, intentional crimes committed with violence, which resulted in death and sexual crimes against minors.
According to Marcy Lopes, the diploma on amnesty that will be sent to the National Assembly for discussion and, later, approval does not cover property crimes, whose damages have not been repaired, but admits the possibility of restitution of seized goods to citizens who demonstrate and the that legitimacy is recognized for that purpose.
Military crimes punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years are also proposed, with the exception of intentional crimes committed with violence and which resulted in death.
According to Marcy Lopes, a generic pardon is provided for the perpetrators of crimes that have been covered by Amnesty and “this pardon is in the order of a quarter of the effective penalty applied to these citizens”.
Exceptions
The minister made it known that this diploma does not provide for amnesty for intentional crimes committed with violence or threats to persons and which resulted in death or when firearms have been used (violent crimes), crimes of trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances that are not are of lesser severity.
Marcy Lopes also indicated that all crimes that include drug trafficking and that have a greater scope will not be amnestied.
He added that the crimes of trafficking in persons and sex, trafficking in weapons and war ammunition, sexual crimes with penetration, sexual crimes committed against minors or crimes that have been committed through sexual aggression will not be amnestied.
Crimes of promoting and aiding illegal immigration, embezzlement, corruption and money laundering, environmental crimes, those that result in vandalization, destruction or deprivation of public goods, crimes against State security that do not admit parole under the terms of the Law, those of incitement to public disorder, popular uprising and coup d’état, crimes that are imprescriptible under the terms of the Constitution and the Law, likewise, are not covered by this Draft Amnesty Law.
The minister added that this diploma does not extinguish civil or criminal liability arising from the amnesty facts and the deadline for filing an action for compensation for damages in the competent court, which must be counted from the entry into force of this draft law.
Marcy Lopes said that the proposal includes a rule regarding seized assets, according to which assets that have been seized in criminal proceedings covered by this Law are declared forfeited in favor of the State.
“Unless it should be returned to whoever legitimately should possess it under the general terms of the law,” said the Minister of Justice and Human Rights.
The minister clarified that the proposal provides for twelve types of crimes that are not amnestied, with emphasis on crimes of embezzlement, corruption and money laundering.
He cited, as an example, a military citizen who commits a crime in the exercise of his functions, this is a military crime and they are also granted amnesty, provided that they are punishable with a prison sentence of up to 10 years, but that they are not intentional crimes. , with violence that resulted in deaths.
“Any crime committed with violence and that has resulted in death, even if it is military, is not amnestied”, clarified the minister, noting that common crimes that resulted in the death of someone are also not amnestied.
Marcy Lopes recalled that in 2015 the last Amnesty Law was passed: “This is the reason why the temporal scope of this proposal that is now submitted to the National Assembly has this temporal spectrum”.
Also in yesterday’s session, the Council of Ministers approved the Organic Statutes of some ministerial departments, with a view to adjusting their organization and functioning to the Organization and Functioning Regime of the Auxiliary Bodies of the President of the Republic, providing them with an organic and that allows them to develop their activity with greater efficiency and effectiveness.
Among the ministries, Public Works, Urban Planning and Housing, Agriculture and Forestry, Fisheries and Marine Resources, Culture, Tourism and Environment stand out.
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