Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/torture/EquatorialGuinea.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Equatorial
Guinea. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No
attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of Torture by Authorities are of
particular interest to you. You might
be interested in exploring the moral justification for inflicting pain or
inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment in order to obtain critical
information that may save countless lives, or to elicit a confession for a
criminal act, or to punish someone to teach him a lesson outside of the
courtroom. Perhaps your paper might
focus on some of the methods of torture, like fear, extreme temperatures,
starvation, thirst, sleep deprivation, suffocation, or immersion in freezing
water. On the other hand, you might
choose to write about the people acting in an official capacity who
perpetrate such cruelty. There is a
lot to the subject of Torture by Authorities.
Scan other countries as well as this one. Draw comparisons between activity in
adjacent countries and/or regions.
Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper
resources that are available on-line. ***
ARCHIVES *** E
Guinea carried out wave of torture after coup bid: activists Agence France-Presse AFP, 30 March 2018 www.news24.com/Africa/News/e-guinea-carried-out-wave-of-torture-after-coup-bid-activists-20180330 [accessed 15 April
2018] Several members of
the opposition Citizens for Innovation (CI) party among 38 who were held at
the main police station in the capital Malabo - which they dubbed
"Guantanamo" - told AFP of alleged abuse during their detention
from December 28 to January 3. "We were tortured
for a week," said party activist Ernesto Obama Ondo, 42. "I
received 150 lashes every day," he said in Malabo. "My buttocks
were in shreds." Mireille Buila Euka, 24, also recounted
being lashed, with her hands and feet bound. "I was whipped 100 times
the first night," she said. The party has said
that during their trial for "rebellion" in February, around 30 of
the 147 defendants could not even stand up because of the alleged torture
they endured at "Guantanamo". Activist
dies in E.Guinea prison after 'torture' Agence France-Presse AFP, 15 January 2018 www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5271471/Activist-dies-E-Guinea-prison-torture-opposition.html [accessed 15 January
2018] An opposition
activist died in prison after being tortured in Equatorial Guinea, the
country's main opposition party said Monday, accusing the government of
"cruel and inhumane" treatment of its detainees. Santiago Ebee Ela, 41, died at the central police station in
capital Malabo on Saturday night as a result of "cruel torture",
Citizens for Innovation (CI) said in a statement. The death was not
confirmed by Equatorial Guinean authorities nor reported by state media. 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Rquatorial
Guinea U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/equatorial-Guinea/
[accessed 18 July
2021] TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT Police reportedly
beat and threatened detainees to extract information or to force confessions.
On March 7, after serving five months in an isolation cell, according to an
opposition blog, Felipe Obama Nse was admitted to
the General Hospital in Malabo after the head of Black Beach Prison had him
tortured. There were no reports of any action taken against the head of the
prison. Reportedly incarcerated at the express command of President Obiang, Obama Nse had been a prisoner
for five years without trial. Some military
personnel and police reportedly raped, sexually assaulted, or beat women,
including at checkpoints. Foreigners recounted being harassed at checkpoints,
including having guns pointed at them without provocation. Senior government
officials took few steps to address such violence and were themselves
sometimes implicated in it. Impunity was a
significant problem within the security forces, due to corruption,
politicization of the forces, poor training, and the ability of senior
government officials to order extrajudicial acts. PRISON AND DETENTION
CENTER CONDITIONS Conditions in the
country’s three prisons and 12 police station jails were generally harsh and
life threatening due to abuse, overcrowding, disease, inadequate
food, poorly trained staff, limited oversight, and lack of medical care. Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/equatorial-guinea/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 12 May
2020] F3. IS THERE PROTECTION FROM THE ILLEGITIMATE
USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FREEDOM FROM WAR AND INSURGENCIES? Beatings and
torture by security forces are reportedly common. Prisons are overcrowded and
feature harsh conditions, including physical abuse, poor sanitation, and
denial of medical care. Human
Rights Watch World Report 2015 - Events of 2014 Human Rights Watch,
29 January 2015 www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/...
or at
www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/wr2015_web.pdf [accessed 18 March
2015] EQUATORIAL GUINEA TORTURE, ARBITRARY
DETENTION, AND UNFAIR TRIALS - Due process rights are routinely flouted in
Equatorial Guinea and prisoner mistreatment remains common. Torture continues
to take place, despite government denials. Many detainees are held
indefinitely without knowing the charges against them. Some are held in
secret detention. Poor conditions in prisons and jails can be
life-threatening. Equatorial Guinea:
Halt Prisoner Torture Human Rights Watcg, 30 July 2014 www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/30/equatorial-guinea-halt-prisoner-torture [accessed 1 August
2014] THE TORTURED TEACHER - Agustín Esono Nsogo, a teacher who established and directs a private
school in Bata, was released under international pressure in February 2014
after more than a year in prison. He was arrested without warrant at his home
on October 17, 2012, then transferred to Black Beach prison in Malabo and
held without charge or trial. His lawyer, Fabián Nsue Nguema,
told Human Rights Watch that Esono was held there
incommunicado for at least a week, and was tortured in an effort to get him
to confess to an alleged plot to destabilize the country. Nsue
said that guards tied Esono’s hands and feet and
suspended him from above “like an animal,” then severely beat him with
batons. Most of the blows were on his wrists and feet, the lawyer said, but
his client was also beaten on the head and lost hearing in one ear as a
result. He was denied medical attention. Nsue said
the beatings happened three times and, at the time of his release, Esono had visible marks of torture on his wrists. Hell Holes:
Torture, starvation and murder the norm at world’s worst gulags Perry Chiaramonte, Fox News, 1 March 2013 [accessed 2 March
2013] BLACK BEACH PRISON,
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
- Torture and starvation are the norm at Black Beach, with many victims being
denied medical care after being beaten. Food is so scarce many prisoners have
died of starvation. Inmates are kept in their cells and shackled at their
feet for more than 12 hours a day. A large number of
the current prison population are part of a failed coup d’état against
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema
in 2004. South African arms dealer and mercenary Nick du Toit,
who spent five years in Black Beach, told Rapport that prisoners were
tortured with electric shocks and burning cigarettes. One coup plotter
suffered a fatal heart attack while being tortured, he said. In an article he
penned entitled “My prison hell,” du Toit wrote of
how his handcuffs cut down to the bone and were left to rust in place. He
lost more than 80 pounds before he was suddenly pardoned in 2009. AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL From an old article -- URL not available Article was
published sometime prior to 2015 ARBITRARY ARRESTS
AND DETENTIONS There were
arbitrary arrests and detentions of suspected opponents, including for not
attending the August celebrations of the anniversary of President Obiang taking power. Most were released without charge
after a few days or weeks. Several were tortured or otherwise ill-treated. Police arrested Agustín Esono Nsogo at his home in Bata on 17 October at 11pm, without
a warrant. He was held incommunicado at Black Beach prison for at least a
week, and was tortured on three occasions, apparently to force him to confess
to a plot to destabilize the country. His detention was not legalized until
one month after his arrest, well beyond the 72 hours prescribed by national
law. He
was not charged with any offence by the year’s end. ENFORCED
DISAPPEARANCE Antonio Lebán, a member of the Army Special Forces, was arrested
in Bata soon after 17 October and was not seen or heard from since. His
arrest appeared to be linked to that of Agustín Esono Nsogo. Search … AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL For current
articles:: Search Amnesty
International Website www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=equatorial+guinea+torture&ref=&year=&lang=en&adv=1&sort=relevance [accessed 31 December
2018] Scroll
Down ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 8, 2006 www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61567.htm [accessed 24 January
2013] 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61567.htm [accessed 3 July
2019] TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT – The law does not
specifically prohibit such practices, and although the law mandates respect
for the liberty and dignity of persons and adherence to the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights, members of the security forces tortured, beat,
and otherwise abused suspects, prisoners, and opposition politicians. In
September AI reported that torture was widespread in the country's places of
detention and during the course of trials. In 2004 senior government
officials told foreign diplomats that human rights did not apply to criminals
and that torture of known criminals was not a human rights abuse. No action
has been taken, or is expected to be taken against security forces
responsible for torture. Unlike in the
previous year, there were no reports that prisoners died from torture;
however, there were reports that officials tortured political opposition
activists and other persons during the year. For example, on May 8, a group
of 15 members of the opposition party Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS)
were violently attacked at the Malabo airport. When the group was passing
through the police checkpoint to enter the departure hall, policemen asked
the group for interior ministry authorization as a condition of travel. Policemen
then violently attacked the young people and those accompanying them, hitting
them with the butts of their handguns, causing substantial injury to several
of them, and leaving some girls in the group undressed in public. At least 10
were detained on police premises, including one who suffered serious injuries
and was given no medical treatment. They were released one week later. About 70 people
charged with offenses related to an alleged coup attempt in October 2004 reportedly
were tortured before and during their questionable secret military trial in
September. The group consisted of former military officers and relatives of
the alleged leader of the attempted coup. Most of the defendants were held
incommunicado in Bata Prison since their arrests in October and November
2004. All but two of the defendants reportedly stated in court that they had
been tortured in detention and some reportedly still bore visible marks. One
man apparently had to be carried in and out of court as he was still unable
to walk. One woman reportedly suffered from vaginal bleeding as a result of
torture. AI reported that statements were extracted by torture during incommunicado detention at Bata Prison and used as
evidence (see section 1.d.). No action was
taken, nor is any expected to be taken, against the responsible authorities
for the following 2004 cases: the torture of five persons arrested on Corisco Island; the shooting of Popular Party (PP)
leader, Marcelino Manuel Nguema Esono;
the torture of Weja Chicampo;
and the torture of Lieutenant Colonel Maximiliano Owono
Nguema. Weja Chicampo, Marcelino Esono, and
Maximiliano Nguema apparently remained in jail at
year's end. No action was taken
against members of the security forces responsible for the 2003 of torture of
opposition leader Felipe Ondo Obiang. Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 7 Civil Liberties: 7 Status: Not Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/equatorial-guinea [accessed 24 January
2013] LONG URL
ç 2009 Country Reports begin on Page 21 [accessed 12 May
2020] The judiciary is not
independent, and security forces generally act with impunity. Civil cases
rarely go to trial, and military tribunals handle national security cases. In
March 2008, a military trial began for more than 100 people, including
security personnel, who were accused of looting the property of Cameroonian
residents following a bout of crime allegedly perpetuated by foreigners in
December 2007. Prison conditions, especially in the notorious Black Beach
prison, are extremely harsh. The authorities have been accused of widespread
human rights abuses, including torture, detention of political opponents, and
extrajudicial killings. The UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention cited the country in a 2007 report for holding detainees
in secret, denying them access to lawyers, and jailing them for long periods
without charge. In 2008, a mission by the special rapporteur on the question
of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment was
rescheduled for November after the government canceled a February visit. The
special rapporteur issued a statement following his visit, noting systematic
torture and appalling conditions for detainees. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for
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ARTICLES. Cite this
webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance
& Other Ill Treatment in the early years of the 21st Century- Equatorial
Guinea", http://gvnet.com/torture/EquatorialGuinea.htm, [accessed
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