The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 578 (August 24 - September 6 2022)

Page4
TheTrumpet
AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 6 2022
TheTrumpet Group
News
Human rights abuse in
Equatorial Guinea
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The Equatorial Guinean authorities
must immediately stop arbitrarily
and indiscriminately arresting young
men in their fight against gang crime,
Amnesty International has said - after
documenting numerous testimonies related
to these arrests.
In response to an alleged increase in
crime by youth gangs, especially a group
known as the “8 Machetes”, Equatorial
Guinea’s Vice President, Teodoro Nguema
Obiang Mangue, launched a national plan
to combat these gangs at the beginning of
May, which was labelled by the authorities
as a “Cleaning Operation”.
On 9 May 2022, Vice President
Nguema Obiang Mangue said in a video
broadcast on national TV that he had
decided to launch the operation ‘to clean’
the streets of Equatorial Guinea of
criminals and bandits, and to highlight the
“right way” to young criminals.
“The ‘Cleaning Operation’ in
Equatorial Guinea is deeply concerning as
it leads to egregious violation of human
rights. Under the pretext of fighting
criminality, young people are being
arbitrarily arrested and detained, with many
facing torture or other ill-treatment, losing
their lives, or being forcibly disappeared,”
said Marta Colomer, Amnesty
International’s Senior Campaigner for West
and Central Africa.
“The Equatorial Guinea authorities
must immediately end this campaign,
which amounts to little more than a targeted
assault on human rights. It is entirely
possible to deal with criminal cases while
also respecting human rights.”
Mass arrests and curfews
The government’s plan includes a
curfew for young people, as well as sending
suspected criminals to high security
prisons. In a single week in May, more than
400 young people were arrested, while
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Teodoro Nguema
Obiang Mangue
three months later, thousands of young men
were reportedly arrested across the country.
Due to a lack of evidence in some cases,
some judges decided to grant parole to
those arrested. At least two of those
arrested, however, died in prison.
Amnesty International spoke with
relatives of arrested and detained
individuals. In many cases, they said their
relatives were mistreated by the security
forces during their arrest and detention.
Rubén, a 21-year-old from Campo-
Yaunde, was arrested alongside a group of
other young people on 20 May while
gathering in the Campo-Yaunde area of
Malabo, the capital. The group had been
described by the authorities as criminals.
On 6 June, he died in prison. The family
received his body and a medical report,
which indicated that Rubén had suffered
from breathing difficulties and anorexia,
among other health issues. The family
maintains that Rubén had no health
problems at the time of his arrest.
An older brother of two arrested boys
told Amnesty: “The government is reacting
to the actions of a criminal gang that was
stealing from people, but they are taking
people at random. Some are criminals, but
others are just innocent men. They don’t
investigate. We are not the only ones
affected. Many families are also affected all
over the country.”
‘He is a gangster, and we are going to
put him in jail’
For many other young people arbitrarily
arrested by security forces, their
whereabouts remains unknown, while their
families are often left with little or no news.
Lucas, a 24-year-old, was arrested by
the Rapid Intervention Force on 8 May
while spending time with his girlfriend and
other friends. They were taken to the
Central Police Station in Malabo. When
Lucas’ girlfriend, Anita, tried to visit him,
the police said her boyfriend “is a gangster,
and we are going to put him in jail”.
The family heard from informal sources
that Lucas is reportedly being held in Black
Beach, a high security prison in Malabo,
yet nobody could confirm this information.
The lack of official information on his fate
or whereabouts may turn his deprivation of
liberty into an enforced disappearance – a
crime under international law.
Anita told Amnesty International: “The
only thing they are saying is that none of
those arrested are innocent. If at some point
it is proven that they are innocent, then they
will be released. What happened to Lucas
is happening all over the country. It’s not
just here in Malabo.”
Santiago, a 22-year-old student arrested
in the municipality of Bata three months
ago, is still being arbitrarily detained by the
police. Although the police told his family
there was no proof of Santiago’s
criminality, they demanded a payment of
100.000 CFA (around US$150) for his
release. As the family were unable to pay,
Santiago remains in detention in an
unknown location.
“It’s not just my story. All the police
stations are overcrowded with young boys
who have been arrested. The other day,
when I went there, there were at least more
than 400 boys,” said Santiago’s father.
According to the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which
Equatorial Guinea is a party, arrested and
detained persons have the right to contact
and access a family member or other person
of their choice. A few days before the
launch of the “Cleaning Operation”, the
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema
Mbasogo told the people of Equatorial
Guinea that the plan does not undermine
human rights, and that international human
rights organizations who criticize it are
trying to destabilize the country.
“The Equatorial Guinean authorities
must urgently offer transparent information
on deaths in detention and torture and other
ill-treatment. They must also ensure those
suspected of criminality face justice in fair
trials before ordinary civilian courts and
release all those who have been arbitrarily
arrested and detained,” said Marta
Colomer.