afrol News, 2 August - Plácido Micó, Secretary-General of Equatorial Guinea's leading opposition party, is one of 18 political prisoners to be set free by the annual amnesty granted by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, celebrating his coup d'état. Hundreds of political prisoners however are to remain in jail, under life-threatening conditions.

President Obiang annually grants a handful of prisoners an amnesty by decree when celebrating the anniversary of his 1979 military coup, where he substituted and killed his predecessor and uncle, President Macias Nguema.

This year, the leader of the opposition party Convergence for a Social Democracy (CPDS), Plácido Micó, and 17 other political prisoners were "honoured" by the presidential amnesty decree. All have been subjected to harsh prison conditions for over a year after a controversial trial last year, which ended up in jail sentences of one to 20 years for 68 opposition politicians.

The presidential amnesty was announced yesterday by the government-run broadcaster 'Radio Malabo'. As usual, however, the pardon will not lead to the immediate release of Mr Micó and his colleagues. The release order first has to go through the Ministry of Justice to be signed there. This could take anything from one week to more than a month.

The group of prisoners to be set free belongs to the 68 opposition politicians sentenced to jail during the giant trial in Malabo in May-June last year. A total of 144 opposition politicians, supporters and family members were accused of plotting a coup d'état through an "attack on the Head of State, conspiracy and provoking rebellion."

Human rights groups and European observers of the Malabo trial termed it a "farce" as some of the accused allegedly had "confessed" while subjected to torture. The European Union (EU) expressed its "grave concerns" over the trial, which it saw as proof for the deteriorating state of human rights in Equatorial Guinea.

The negative international focus on the Obiang regime did not stop with the conviction of the 68 opposition politicians, however. Since the political prisoners were sent to the infamous Black Beach prison in Malabo in June last year, at least two have died due to the harsh conditions there. The two representatives of an outlawed opposition party were reported to have suffered from torture, ill-treatment and lack of food.

The Malabo trial, which muzzled much of the country's opposition, came only months before President Obiang surprisingly announced the organising of anticipated general elections on 15 December. With Mr Micó in prison and most of the opposition boycotting the poll, the incumbent President easily won the elections, which additionally were marred by fraud, intimidation and repression.

During the elections, Celestino B. Bacale had to stand in for Mr Micó as the presidential candidate of the CPDS. The party is the only legal opposition party in Equatorial Guinea that has managed to escape infiltration from the ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE).

As it became clear that last year's poll were being manipulated, the CPDS however withdrew its candidate. President Obiang claimed to have won the controversial poll with 99.5 percent of the votes.

With the political situation now under firm control, President Obiang thus has felt confident to release his main political opponent. Mr Micó, who had been sentenced to 14 years in prison, thus may return to his work as CPDS Secretary-General.

Other opposition leaders will however remain in prison. This includes the prominent Democratic Republican Force (FDR) leaders Felipe Ondó and Guillermo Nguema Elá. The FDR is considered an illegal party after its application to be registered as a political party was turned down by Equatoguinean authorities in 2001. Also Mr Ondó and Mr Elá were sentenced to several years in prison for having participated in the alleged plot against President Obiang.

The presidential amnesty for 18 of the 68 political prisoners therefore was not well-received among pro-democracy activists. The Madrid-based Association for Democratic Solidarity with Equatorial Guinea (ASODEGUE) immediately stated that the limited amnesty announcement "is not sufficient."

- In the thirteen months passed since the trial, our organisation and many other [Spanish] politic, trade union and social groups have been trying to influence the Spanish public opinion, the administration of our country and different EU institutions to pressure the Equatoguinean dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema so that all political prisoners are released, explains ASODEGUE coordinator Adolfo Fernández.

Meanwhile, and in spite of the amnesty, the detentions of competing politicians continue to take place. On Thursday (31 July), Nicholas Mangue, CPDS leader of the Río Muni region - the continental part of Equatorial Guinea - was detained in the town of Niefang without being given any reason for his detention.

According to a statement by CPDS leaders in Malabo, the incident "once again" was "an act of intimidation", under which the Equatoguinean democratic opposition regularly suffers when they are trying to head to the interior of the country to establish contacts with the population of these districts. The CPDS had also been prevented from campaigning in this region - which is home to President Obiang and most of his ruling elite - ahead of last year's elections.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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