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afrol News, 10 June - 68 opposition leaders were yesterday sentenced to prison terms of 6 to 20 years while 76 accused were acquitted in a Malabo trial against alleged plotters to topple the President. The trial and verdict have been met with strong international protest, including from the European Union. The EU today stated it was "deeply concerned at the deterioration in the political situation and in human rights in Equatorial Guinea in recent weeks, which have seen many people, including leaders of opposition political parties, taken into custody, and have culminated in the recent trial of detainees in Malabo." According to a press release by the EU and 15 associated countries, these events in Equatorial Guinea represented "a retreat" on the part of the country's authorities "from the progress made with the rule of law and observance of human rights." This believed "progress" had led to the termination of the UN's human rights monitoring of the country earlier this year. In preparation for the 2003 presidential elections, 144 prominent members of the Equatoguinean opposition were taken to court in Malabo, accused of plotting to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema at two distinct occasions (1997 and earlier this year). All the accused denied the charges. The group included party leaders, opposition members, military personnel and two ex-Ministers; Donato Ondó Ondó and Julio Ndong Elá Mangue. Two party leaders - Felipe Ondó Obiang, head of the Democratic Republican Force (FDR); and Plácido Micó Abogo of the Party for Democratic and Social Convergence (CPDS) - received jail sentences. CPDS is the only legal opposition party in Equatorial Guinea, the other parties being taken over by the ruling party. FDR has been termed illegal as it was barred from registering. International observers to the trial called it "a farce". This included an official observer mission from the Spanish government, the ex-colonial power. Spokesman of the Spanish Socialist Party, Juan José Laborda, had been present in Malabo and called the exercise "a political trial" which "puts an end to the hope of a democratic transition in Equatorial Guinea." The Spanish team also held that 52 of the 144 accused had been tortured, while Amnesty International claims that 90 percent of them had been victims to "inhumane practices". Fernando Ledesma Ibáñez, a Spanish lawyer observing the trial, today made a statement criticising every part of the trial and "the hypocrisy and perversion" of the court. The lawyers had not been given a possibility to defend the accused, who had been tortured to confess an imaginary plot. The trial against CPDS leader Plácido Micó, who had little to do with the other accused, clearly showed that "the reality behind this farce was to eliminate the opposition before the upcoming elections." Also the CPDS, in a statement published yesterday, says the trial against its Secretary General Micó is "a political process," which has the goal of letting President "Obiang being the only candidate to run for presidency in the next elections". Micó was related to the alleged coup plot for having met with César Elá Ondó, accused of being the mastermind behind the plot. Elá Ondó however had confessed to meeting Micó "to ease himself from the torture he was put through," CPDS says, something he also stated in court, denying the meeting had ever taken place. Amnesty representative Diego Postigo, who had seen evidence of torture both before and during the trial, confirmed that the convictions were aimed at spreading fear in advance of the 2003 elections. "Torture by security forces is routine in Equatorial Guinea," the group recently stated. Also the EU, from its present presidency in Spain, stated its concerns at the "procedural irregularities observed during the trial, at the allegations of torture and ill-treatment of the accused, and at the flimsiness of the evidence, which contrasts with the severity of the sentence. All this casts serious doubt over the willingness of the authorities of Equatorial Guinea to defend the rule of law and comply with the human rights commitments recently made by the country." The EU called on the relevant Guinean authorities "to take the necessary measures to have the sentence reviewed, in order to ensure that the fundamental rights of the accused are respected, and in particular that statements which they may have made under duress have not been used against them." Finally, the EU was concerned at the potential repercussions of the present situation on the health of the International Pact concluded in 1993 and renewed in 1997 and in 2001, between the government and all political parties, and on the free play of democratic principles in Equatorial Guinea in the organisation of the forthcoming presidential elections in 2003. This represents the first strong international critique against the dictatorship of President Obiang in several years. During the last five years, Equatorial Guinea has experienced an oil boom, during which international capital (especially from France and the US) has streamed into the country and served significantly to improve its international relations. Sources: Based on EU, Equatoguinean opposition, Amnesty and afrol archives
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