Africa-Press – Angola. Angolan international relations expert Osvaldo Mboco said today that the detention of Russian citizens in Angola should not lead to a diplomatic incident between the two countries if the suspects receive humanitarian treatment and the charges are proven.
For Osvaldo Mboco, it is essential, as a first step, for the Angolan authorities to prove the origin of the two citizens detained in Angola, suspected of criminal association, document forgery, terrorism, and terrorist financing.
“Because they may not be Russian citizens and are simply using Russian passports, that’s the first element. The second element is that if the gravity of the facts and the accusations against them are proven, and if they are true and given normal and humanitarian treatment, there are no diplomatic implications,” the analyst stated.
Speaking to Lusa, the international relations professor also considered that the Russian Federation has every interest in resolving this case, because, he noted, “it can only have some diplomatic implications between the states if it is concluded that these individuals were acting at the behest of the Russian Federation.”
“In other words, it is a Russian state strategy to destabilize Angola, and that would have profound diplomatic implications and consequences for our relations,” he argued.
According to Mboco, if these are just isolated actions by Russian citizens and their involvement is proven, “it has no implications from the point of view of instability in relations between the two states.”
He also noted that the Russian Federation, in this case, will want to safeguard the interests of its citizens: “And safeguard the interest of them having a fair trial, if it is held in Angola, serving their sentence fairly in decent prison conditions and, at a later date, it may be the case that the case is sent to Russia for trial.”
Two citizens and two other Angolans were held in preventive detention in Luanda on suspicion of criminal association, document forgery, terrorism and terrorist financing, as announced this week by the Angolan Criminal Investigation Service (SIC).
“It is important to emphasize that our investigations have determined that the Russian citizens are operatives for the organization Africa Politology, whose activities, among other missions, aim to promote disinformation campaigns, manipulate local media, and infiltrate political processes, particularly in the promotion of subversion,” the SIC note states.
Osvaldo Mboco said, on the other hand, that it is premature to talk about any irritation between Luanda and Moscow, in the context of these arrests, “except in situations in which the involvement of high-ranking figures, high-ranking officials or a Russian strategy to destabilize the Angolan state is identified.”
“Then we will undoubtedly have some irritant, and we may also have another irritant in this same direction if the Russians realize that there is not enough evidence regarding the involvement of these individuals in the crimes they are being accused of, but we will remain calm and wait for justice to do its work,” he concluded.
The Russians, according to the SIC, also delivered “large sums of money, in national and foreign currency, to journalists, politicians, professional associations and digital content producers to support their actions.”
The investigation also found, SIC continues, that the organization Africa Politology not only operates with digital propaganda and fake news, but also “finances staged demonstrations, corrupts local journalists, and shapes the public narrative in favor of its strategic interests.”
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