No political detainees, minister says

Equatorial Guinea’s information minister denied today (Monday) that 12 opposition politicians reportedly arrested on election day, 7 March, were in detention. “There is no one in detention in connection with the elections,” Information and Tourism Minister Lucas Nguema told IRIN by telephone from Malabo. “It’s a lie. It’s untrue,” he said in reaction to information from Amnesty International that the 12 were in detention. On Friday, Amnesty issued a statement calling for appeals to be sent to the Equatorial Guinea government for the immediate release of the detainees and for assurances that they were not being tortured, ill-treated or prevented from seeing their families, a lawyer and a doctor. The 12 “are being held in incommunicado detention since being arrested on 7 March 1999 in Nsok Nsomo, a town in eastern Equatorial Guinea,” Amnesty said on Friday. They had been working as election monitors for their parties, Union Popular (UP) and Convergencia para la Democracia Social (CPDS) at the election. “Amnesty International fears for their safety since torture and ill-treatment in detention are routine in the country,” the international rights watchdog said. The 7 March polls were the second legislative election since 1992, when a multi-party political system was introduced in the Central African nation of fewer than 500,000 people.