Equatorial Guinea
Amnesty given but not given in Equatorial Guinea

afrol News, 12 October - Yesterday afternoon, the Equatoguinean 'National Radio' announced a general amnesty for all prisoners. Nevertheless, today no moves were registered to free detainees from the numerous prisons, and nothing was heard of the future of the large number of political prisoners that were convicted to prison terms by a Malabo court on 23 May. 

The surprising news of a general amnesty for the country's prisoners was announced yesterday by the Equatoguinean radio. According to the Spanish Association of Solidarity with Equatorial Guinea (ASODEGUE), however, "it is never easy to define precisely the meaning of this type of declarations" in Equatorial Guinea. 

The only thing that, according to ASODEGUE, seemed probable was that all prisoners would see their prison terms reduced and that some might be allowed to leave jail, at least women prisoners, those older than 70 years and those prisoners condemned earlier than 21 January 1998 - the date as forty political prisoners were sentenced to long jail terms for their activities in the now illegal MAIB opposition party, campaigning for autonomy for Bioko Island.

Nevertheless, yesterday's news diffusion of a general amnesty keeps producing greater confusion in Equatorial Guinea. Today, as Equatorial Guinea's Independence Day has been celebrated, there has not been any broadcasting of such an amnesty. Such an announcement typically is celebrated particularly on an Independence Day. But prisoners' relatives have not been given any notice from the authorities or from their imprisoned kin that any release was under preparation.

In media related to the Equatoguinean exiled opposition, a certain atmosphere of pessimism meanwhile is spreading, concerning the 68 political leaders that were imprisoned after the so-called 23 May "macro-judgement" of this year. As the international interest in their case was disappearing, also was the pressure to have them released. 

According to the interpretation of the announced amnesty in these media, the undifferentiated announcement, not mentioning the 68 prisoner of 23 May, should mean that the latter were not going to be set free, if anyone. The same sources claim to know that "nobody will be released before Tuesday or Wednesday the next week." The reliability of this information must however be questioned. 

A delegation from the Spanish ex-colonial power, has been attending today's independence celebrations. The delegation is reported to have been "totally ignored" by the Equatoguinean state-controlled mass media and will leave the country tomorrow morning without having met any Equatoguinean high official. 

Sources: Based on ASODEGUE and afrol archives 

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