A Judge in Angola has increased tiktoker Ana da Silva Miguel’s prison term for “insulting” President Joo Lourenço on TikTok from one year to two years According to the BBC.
Ana da Silva Miguel, also known as Neth Nahara, a well-known TikToker, was originally given a six-month prison term by a judge in August. However, an Appeal court increased the sentence to two years after finding out that the jail term given was too little for the weight of the crime she had committed.
According to reports, going by her Tiktok name @nethnahara.yaya., Ana DA Silva Miguel had accused the Angolan president of Anarchy and Disorganization.
She also accused the president of not being able to provide jobs, education and housing in the oil-rich state of Southern Africa.
In a highly contested election in August of last year, President Lourenço was re-elected for a second term, extending the administration. He has been in power since independence in 1975 and is accused of leading a repressive regime.
The Court of Appeals in the nation’s capital, Luanda, ruled that Ms. Miguel had insulted the president and that her actions were “more objectionable” because of her ability to sway public opinion.
Being a first-time offender and mother of young children she expressed regret for her statements while pleading for mercy.
The court, however, rejected her argument and further ordered her to pay President Lourenço $1,200 (£1,000) as compensation for the “damage” she had done to his reputation.
The president was referred to as “sovereign” by Judge Salomo Raimundo Kulanda, who also claimed that the TikToker was aware of this.
Ms. Miguel gets thousands of views on her videos and over 230,000 followers on TikTok.
Ms. Miguel’s lawyer had argued that this is the first time someone is being sentenced to prison for posting on TiktokTiktok.
Overall, the prosecute requested a heavier term with the argument that if anything less than three years of imprisonment is given, others might follow in Ms. Miguel’s steps. Hence, the two years jail term.
