John Hooper
Human rights observers were last week given a rare glimpse into the workings of one of the world’s least known – and least savoury – regimes.
In Malabo, the capital of theEformer Spanish colony of Equatorial Guinea, 117 people went on trial accused of separatist violence. The defendants, many of whom face the death penalty, are being judged under a code of military law that has remained substantially unchanged since it was imposed by the late Spanish dictator, General Francisco Franco, in 1948.
The government has allowed foreign journalists to cover the proceedings and has agreed to the presence of observers from Amnesty International.
The defendants’ complaints of mistreatment were dismissed by the judge. Several were missing parts of their ears and told journalists in court they had been mutilated with razors at a military barracks in Luba, on the island of Bioko.
Asked by the prosecutor to speak louder, one defendant replied: “I can’t. My jaw was broken during the interrogations.”
The Spanish newspaper El Pas quoted Equatorial Guinea’s information minister, Lucas Nguema, as saying: “I hadn’t noticed (the apparent evidence of torture). They may be tattoos or some custom.”
In January, guerrillas of the Movement for the Self-determination of the Island of Bioko attacked three police stations in Luba, killing four soldiers and a civilian. Bioko is the seat of the administration and has been increasingly populated by members of the mainland Fang tribe. The rebel group was formed in 1993 by Bubi tribe members, the original Bioko inhabitants.