“Equatorial Guinea totally ignores Amnesty International’s statements on human rights because they lack foundation and credibility,” said Mr Obiang, vice-president and son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
In its latest report on the fight against gangs in Equatorial Guinea, published on 18 August, the human rights NGO denounced the government’s policy of fighting these gangs, which it said “undermines human rights” with arbitrary detentions, torture and enforced disappearances.
Operation Clean-Up” – “Operación limpieza” in Spanish, the national language – was launched in early May, deploying nearly 800 police officers against the country’s most feared gang, whose main targets are women, some of whom are raped and robbed of their possessions.
“Under the guise of fighting crime, the authorities arbitrarily arrest and detain young people, many of whom are tortured, ill-treated or die, or are subjected to enforced disappearance,” said Marta Colomer, Amnesty’s West and Central Africa Campaigner.
Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the son of President Obiang, launched this operation on 9 May to “clean up” the country’s streets and show young offenders the “right path”. The authorities introduced a curfew from 10pm to 6am as part of the operation.
Amnesty International estimates that in the space of three months, several thousand young men have been arrested across the country.
“The authorities in Equatorial Guinea must urgently provide transparent information on cases of death in custody, torture and other ill-treatment” and “ensure that alleged offenders are brought to justice in fair trials”, according to the NGO, for whom “it is entirely possible to deal with crime while respecting human rights”.
