Two Russians, arrested in Angola after demonstrations that sparked riots a year ago, have been sentenced to 8 and 11 years in prison, notably for espionage and terrorism, one of the lawyers in this "Russian case," as it is called in Luanda, said on Wednesday.

A social protest movement, initiated by a taxi strike against rising fuel prices, turned into three days of riots and looting between July 28 and 30, 2025, resulting in the deaths of 22 people, according to the Angolan Ministry of the Interior.

At the time, police reported 30 deaths, including a police officer, as well as 200 people injured and 1,200 arrested.

In its submissions earlier this month, the prosecution accused the defendants of planning activities aimed at destabilizing Angola by "preparing a coup d'état" and seeking to "capture national economic assets".

Also prosecuted in this case, Carlos Tomé, a sports journalist at Angolan public television (TPA), was sentenced to two years in prison with a suspended sentence, and Francisco de Oliveira, the secretary general of the youth branch of the main opposition party, Unita, was acquitted.

"The public prosecutor considered that it could not be satisfied with this decision of the court and filed an appeal with suspensive effect," said David Guz, lawyer for the two Angolans, in a statement obtained by AFP.

During the proceedings, the two Russian nationals, Lev Lakshtanov and Igor Ratchin, sentenced to eight and 11 years in prison respectively, denied any connection with terrorist organizations. They claimed that their activities in Angola were cultural and commercial in nature.

Previous testimonies also revealed that they had held numerous meetings with political figures, both from the ruling party and the opposition.

- "Network serving Russian influence" -

A joint investigation by the collective All Eyes on Wagner (named after the former Russian paramilitary organization) and the French media outlet RFI shortly after their arrest in August 2025 reported that the Angolan authorities considered them members of Africa Politology, a "nebulous Russian network that combines consultants and influence operations operators, lobbyists and lawyers, country experts for political advice in the service of Russian influence".

During its submissions, the Angolan public prosecutor's office stated that the Russian defendants intended to provide financial support to the opposition party Unita in view of the 2027 general elections.

The Russian embassy has not yet responded to requests for comment from AFP.

- Undecided elections in 2027 -

In the last elections in 2022, the historic ruling party, the MPLA, was declared the winner with 51.17% of the vote. This was the lowest score ever recorded by the party, following the closest election in its history.

The main opposition party, Unita, credited with 43.95% of the votes, had contested the official results, in vain.

Supported by the Soviet Union during the Angolan War of Independence and Civil War, the MPLA has shifted towards the West since Joao Lourenço came to power in 2017. This shift was marked by the visit of US President Joe Biden to Luanda in 2024.

During this trip, the former president pledged a $550 million loan to modernize the Lobito Corridor railway, a strategic route for transporting ore to connect Angola's Atlantic coast with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. This loan has since been granted by the new administration of Donald Trump.

As for Europe, through the European Union, member states, the European Investment Bank or the private sector, it is the main funder of the project, with a budget of 2 billion euros.