Marques believes it was fair criticism of a corrupt leader.
Marques, a freelance journalist whose trial on charges of criminal defamation began on March 9 in Angola's Supreme Court, will have to wait until at least March 21 before his fate is decided. The Supreme Court adjourned the trial to rule on an appeal filed by the defense, according to the New York-based press freedom organization Committee to Protect Journalists. The appeal was filed by lawyers for Aguiar dos Santos, Marques's co-defendant and publisher of the independent weekly Agora . Dos Santos's lawyers argued that they had not been given enough time to prepare their defense. Judge Joaquim de Abreu Cangato, presiding over the trial, also ruled that the hearings will be held publicly, against the wishes of the prosecution and President dos Santos.