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.
Neth Nahara, a well-known TikToker, was originally given a six-month prison term by a judge in August.
However, an appeals court increased the sentence to two years after finding that it was too mild.
According to local media, Ms. Miguel accused the president of “anarchy and disorganization” on her TikTok account, which goes by the moniker @nethnahara.yaya.
She also accused the president of failing to provide jobs, housing, and education 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
It has been in power since independence in 1975 and is accused of leading a repressive regime.
The appeals court 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 expressing regret for her statements 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.
This was the first time a person had been found guilty in Angola for anything they had put on TikTok, her attorney informed the Portuguese news outlet Lusa.
The attorney also stated that the decision was final. A sentence of less than three years could not be appealed to the Supreme Court.
The state prosecutor had requested a heavier term, arguing that the initial six-month sentence was too “benevolent” and that Ms. Miguel would probably make more of these types of social media remarks in the future.
Despite being one of Africa’s top oil exporters, the majority of Angolans are impoverished.
A wave of demonstrations against the growing cost of living has hit it.
