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Angolan Rebel Chief's Children Sue 'Call of Duty' Makers for Unflattering Portrayal of Their Dad

Angolan guerrilla chief Jonas Savimbi is featured in the game's opening mission, brandishing a grenade launcher and ordering troops to kill the enemy.
Screenshot vie YouTube

It was an unusual scene yesterday at the High Court of Nanterre, in the western suburb of Paris. On the one side were the children of Jonas Savimbi, an Angolan rebel chief who was killed in 2002. On the other was Activision, an American video game developer best known for giving the world the Call of Duty series.

Central to the case is the presence of a character named Jonas Savimbi in the very first mission of Call of Duty: Black Ops II. According to the attorneys representing Savimbi's children, the unflattering portrayal of their father in the game constitutes "defamation" and "sullies his honor."

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Speaking to French radio station RFI Tuesday, Activision's attorney Etienne Kowalski said the depiction of Savimbi in the game was "rather favorable," given that Savimbi's role in the game is to help the player complete his mission. He said that Savimbi had been portrayed "for what he was," that is, "a guerilla chief."

The case, which is expected to be settled by mid-February, could set a legal precedent in France, which has never before had to rule on whether an individual's portrayal in a video game can be considered slanderous or defamatory.

"This is unchartered territory, there is a real legal vacuum concerning depiction in video games," said Carole Enfert, the attorney who is representing Savimbi's three children.

The late chief's children are aged between 20 and 30 years old, and have been studying and working in France for several years.

"Mr Savimbi's children are asking the game's publisher for one million euros," she told VICE News. "It might seem like a lot, but it's a symbolic amount compared to what this company made depicting their father in such a way."

Released in November 2012, Call of Duty: Black Ops II — often referred to simply as Black Ops II — was a tremendous commercial success and has allegedly sold 29 million copies worldwide, raking in over a billion euros in revenue.

The scenes that have angered Savimbi's family are featured in the very first mission of Black Ops II. Players are shown a long opening sequence depicting fighting that took place in Angola in 1986.

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"Our dog in the fight was a guy named Jonas Savimbi," one of the characters is heard saying. Savimbi himself appears onscreen 48 seconds into the opening trailer.

Savimbi — who is identified by name — can be seen rallying troops, brandishing a grenade-launcher, and standing on the roof of a vehicle hurtling through a combat zone.

"One of Jonas Savimbi's children discovered the existence of this character on social media in 2014," explained Enfert. "He was very shocked by the resemblance, and the violence of the character based on his father. He and his relatives feel like they have been compromised."

Several times, the character presented as Savimbi is heard taunting his enemies.

"They are weak, we must finish them off!" he says, "Death to the MPLA!" After ten minutes of play, the player is handed information by Savimbi, before climbing into a helicopter to reach the next position.

The Call of Duty series is a popular franchise that was launched in 2003. Known as a first-person shooter game, it is played from the point of view of a fighter, whose mission is to gun down enemy targets.

While they started off being based on actual wars, today the video games blend history and fiction.

In September 2014, one of the screenwriters for the franchise was recruited by the Atlantic Council — a think tank that advises the US military and NATO, among others — to draw a list of potential doomsday scenarios that could lead to the downfall of the US.

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The very first Black Ops II mission is based on the civil war in Angola, a conflict that lasted three decades and reportedly resulted in the death of 500,000 people.

Related: Angola Accuses Rapper and 14 Other Activists of Trying to Overthrow the Government

Angola, a former Portuguese colony, gained independence in 1975. A power struggle ensued between various armed factions, including the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas Savimbi, and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), a pro-communist group supported by the Soviet Union and Cuba. Peace agreements were signed in 1991, but by 1992, Savimbi resumed fighting. He was killed by Angolan forces on February 22, 2002.

"He was a war chief, for sure, but also a political figure with many allies, including Nelson Mandela," Enfert told VICE News. Savimbi also enjoyed the support of South Africa and of the US against the Soviet block.

"Our issue with the video game is that it shows only one side of Jonas Savimbi," explained Enfert. "He's portrayed as a big brute."

"In this trial, we are not trying to assess whether Savimbi was a good man or not," said Enfert. The family's aim, she said, is to "shed light" on the legal framework regulating the publishing of video games.

"Today, it's Jonas Savimbi, but it could be anyone. Would you like being depicted in a video game without having a say in it? I wouldn't," said the attorney.

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In France, slander is defined as "the allegation of an unproven fact that is prejudicial to the honor and esteem of a person." It is regulated by the July 20 1881 law on the freedom of press — which also applies to images. Claims of libel, however, have to be made within three months of the offending publication.

Related: 'Blood Diamonds' Journalist Faces Renewed Threat of Prison After Alleged 'Double-Crossing' by Angolan Government

Released in 2012, Black Ops II could therefore be subject to the statute of limitations, a possibility that Enfert said was unfair to her clients. "My clients are not gamers, they were never informed about anything concerning the use of their father's image," she said.

If the court in Nanterre finds Activision guilty of libel, it could be "a first in the universe of video games in France," said Enfert.

Contacted by VICE News Wednesday, Activision's attorney Kowalski was unable to comment in time for publication.

The court is expected to rule by mid-February.

Follow Pierre-Louis Caron on Twitter : @pierrelouis_c

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This article originally appeared on VICE News' French edition.