Jailed Angolan rapper Luaty Beirao on hunger strike

Angolan rapper Luaty Beirao who has been jailed for plotting a rebellion against the country’s president has started another hunger strike to protest his transfer from the Viana district prison.

According to his sister, Beirao was transferred to the prison hospital of Sao Paolo in Luanda but he preferred to stay in Viana to protest the human rights violations at the prison.

Luaty who is no stranger to hunger strikes, has also decided to go nude as part of his protest after he was “forcibly” taken from the prison where he was being held.

#Angola n activist #Luaty Beirão on hunger strike, silence and nudity #CPLP https://t.co/BmQlS2w7dD pic.twitter.com/BoC2MnluoB

— Club of Mozambique (@clubOmozambique) May 6, 2016

He embarked on a 36-day strike when he and a group of activists were initially arrested in September last year.

On March 28 2016, Beirao and 16 other youth activists were sentenced to varied prison terms ranging from 2 to 8 years for planning a rebellion against president Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

Beirao also known by his stage name Ikonoklasta was give a five-and-a-half year prison term for “rebellion against the president of the republic, criminal association and forgery,” AFP reported at the time.

The rapper is an outspoken critic of president dos Santos’ government and has called for a fairer distribution of state’s oil wealth.

Agencies