--- description: An Angolan court charged 17 activists with rebellion for meeting to discuss a book about nonviolent resistance to dictatorships. title: Angola Charges 17 for Reading Book About Peaceful Resistance image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte328e07f1410216a/698871695f570f0a21b1e5db/rts7f1c.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Angola Charges Activists With Rebellion for Reading Book About Peaceful Resistance by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 17, 2015 5:49 AM CUT  Some of a group of 17 young Angolan activists appear in court in Luanda, Nov. 16, 2015 Some of a group of 17 young Angolan activists appear in court in Luanda, Nov. 16, 2015Reuters by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 17, 2015 5:49 AM CUT An Angolan court [charged](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/17/angolan-activists-charged-rebellion-state-book-reading "undefined") 17 activists with rebellion on Monday after they met to discuss a book about nonviolent resistance to repressive governments. Authorities arrested the group in June after it planned to read _Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation_ by U.S. academic Gene Sharp, according to the _Guardian_. After nearly five months of detention, the campaigners appeared in court and were charged with acts of rebellion, planning civil disobedience in the capital, Luanda, and forging passports. Some of the detained activists belonged to a youth movement that in the past had called for the ouster of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has held power for 36 years, according to the [BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34833545 "undefined"). Human-rights organizations [Amnesty International](https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/11/angola-trial-of-15-activists-after-five-months-in-detention-a-travesty-of-justice/ "undefined") and [Human Rights Watch](https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/11/04/angola-free-jailed-activists "undefined") have both called for the prisoners’ immediate release, describing the charges as violating their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly as protected by the Angolan constitution. \[[_Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/17/angolan-activists-charged-rebellion-state-book-reading "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4115752/angola-activists-reading-rebellion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4115752/angola-activists-reading-rebellion/"},"headline":"Angola Charges Activists With Rebellion for Reading Book About Peaceful Resistance","datePublished":"2015-11-17T05:49:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:41:04.006Z","description":"Prominent rights organizations have called for the prisoners’ immediate release","url":"https://time.com/4115752/angola-activists-reading-rebellion/","keywords":["reading","activists"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte328e07f1410216a/698871695f570f0a21b1e5db/rts7f1c.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Rivett-Carnac","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-rivett-carnac/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte328e07f1410216a/698871695f570f0a21b1e5db/rts7f1c.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Some of a group of seventeen young Angolan activists appear in court in Luanda","caption":"Some of a group of seventeen young Angolan activists appear in court in Luanda","creditText":"Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4115752/angola-activists-reading-rebellion/","name":"Angola Charges Activists With Rebellion for Reading Book About Peaceful Resistance"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Belarusian Author Wins Nobel Prize For Literature","description":"Svetlana Alexievich is praised for blending literature and journalism.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/TnKMjCbN/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-08T14:32:20.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/TnKMjCbN.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4115752/angola-activists-reading-rebellion/","duration":"PT36S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4115752/angola-activists-reading-rebellion/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```