Angolan rebel, Jonas Savimbi may have been killed over a decade ago, years on, his family are suing makers of a popular video game over what they claim is a “barbarian” portrayal of the slain rebel leader.
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The members of the family, who are now based in France, have targeted Activision Blizzard’s French branch and are seeking €1 Million be paid out in damages for the depiction of their father.
But, a judge in California ruled in favor of Activision and said the contents of “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” is protected by the Constitution.
Savimbi, the leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), was killed in 2002 during fighting with the MPLA in his home province of Moxico.
In the first campaign mission of Black Ops II, the player must aid Savimbi in a battle against MPLA forces.
As charismatic as he was controversial, the bearded Savimbi often appeared in uniform with a cocked red beret.
The sequence sees Savimbi lead a US-backed counter offensive against government troops yelling “Fight my brothers!” and “Death to the MPLA!” The lawsuit looks to argue that he was in fact a “political leader and strategist”.
“In cases such as this, where a well-known person is either depicted or has provided inspiration for a character, it is not surprising that someone aggrieved by it is able to formulate the basis of a legal argument”, he told The Guardian.
Noriega filed a lawsuit in 2014 in the United States complaining that the game portrayed him in a bad light, but the case was thrown out.
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Activision has, unsurprisingly, disagreed with the claims, and said its portrayal of Savimbi showed him to be a “good guy”.
