Covering events from January - December 2002

REPUBLIC OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Head of state: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Head of government: Candido Muatetema Rivas
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: not signed

After one or two years of relative decline in the number of human rights violations, a new wave of arrests, torture and unfair trials began when the authorities claimed in March that they had discovered a coup plot. More than 150 people were arrested, many of whom were tortured to extract "confessions". These were used during an unfair trial to convict 67 people who were sentenced to long prison terms and appeared to be prisoners of conscience. Prison conditions before, during and after the trial were harsh, with inadequate food and medical treatment, especially for detainees who had been tortured. As a result, two prisoners died and at least two others were hospitalized. In October, the authorities announced a general amnesty which led to the release of more than 100 prisoners, but did not cover most of the prisoners of conscience.

Background

Although the authorities accepted multi-party democracy in 1992, peaceful political opponents have faced continuing repression and the denial of fundamental rights. The country's oil production and international importance rose during this period, although the population at large received little benefit. In March, the authorities dissolved the Bar Association on the pretext that some lawyers did not have the necessary training to exercise their profession. In May, the Deputy Minister of Information called for the Asociación de la Prensa de Guinea Ecuatorial, Equatorial Guinea Press Association, to be banned.

Arrests of prisoners of conscience

Between mid-March and May more than 150 people were arrested, including former members of the armed forces and relatives of Felipe Ondó Obiang, former member of parliament and leader of the Fuerza Demócrata Republicana (FDR), Republican Democratic Force, an unauthorized political party. They were all accused of plotting against the security of the state and appeared to be prisoners of conscience, arrested solely because of their links with the FDR. Many were sentenced after an unfair trial in May (see below). The leaders of the two main legal opposition parties, both lawyers, were also arrested.

  • Plácido Micó, Secretary General of the Convergencia para la Democracia Social, Convergence for Social Democracy, was arrested and subsequently convicted in connection with the alleged FDR plot. He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment.
  • Fabián Nsué Nguema Obomo, leader of one of the factions within the Unión Popular, Popular Union, was arrested and sentenced in July to one year's imprisonment for "defaming the head of state". He was released under an October amnesty.
  • In May, more than 10 members of the Bubi ethnic group were arrested during a traditional ceremony in the town of Moka and accused of "attempting to undermine the security of the state". In November, they were released after all the charges against them were dropped in court during the trial.
Torture

Most of the people arrested because of alleged links with the FDR were tortured in pre-trial incommunicado detention to force them to make statements incriminating themselves and others in the alleged coup. Many of them were tied up with rope and hung from a bar in a position that meant that the bones in their forearms, and in some cases their legs, eventually broke. They were also beaten, some severely with sticks and whips. They were blindfolded for prolonged periods.

The torture and ill-treatment of the detainees continued during the trial. Some of the defendants who told the court they wished to retract earlier statements were subsequently tortured in prison, apparently in reprisal.

The wives of two prisoners who took food to their husbands were also beaten and tortured and one of them was raped by several soldiers, according to a statement made in court by her husband.

Unfair trial

In May and June, 144 of the people arrested in connection with the alleged FDR plot were tried in Malabo, the capital, on charges of attacking state security. The trial, to which AI sent an observer, was characterized by serious human rights violations and countless procedural irregularities, such as the use of confessions obtained under torture which were retracted by the accused when in court; the lack of adequate defence; and the lack of independence of the judges, who had been directly appointed by the executive authorities.

Despite these serious violations of the defendants' rights, the court convicted 64 of them (plus three in absentia) to sentences ranging from six to 20 years' imprisonment. Felipe Ondó Obiang was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. In June, the European Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the trial to be annulled and for the prisoners to be released immediately. Following the October amnesty, only five of the people sentenced during this trial were released.

Harsh prison conditions

The conditions in which the prisoners arrested in connection with the alleged FDR plot were held were cruel, inhuman and degrading. The detainees were stripped and crammed together in small cells. None was given medical attention and some were denied food which had been brought to them by their families. Conditions deteriorated even further in June when the authorities banned relatives from visiting the prisoners and bringing them food. Following the ban, the prisoners received insufficient amounts of food and many apparently suffered from malnutrition and lack of treatment for the wounds caused by torture. Two prisoners, Juan Ondó Nguema and Juan Sumu Sima (aged 80), died and at least two others were hospitalized.

UN Commission on Human Rights

In April, despite the serious human rights violations committed following the alleged FDR plot, the UN Commission on Human Rights decided to end the mandate of the Special Representative on Equatorial Guinea who had been monitoring the human rights situation in the country for over 20 years.

AI country visits

An AI delegate observed the May/June trial in Malabo.

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