Equatorial Guinea: Human Rights Defender Arrested Once Again
Joaquín Elo Ayeto is a member of the opposition political party Convergence for Social Democracy (Convergencia Para la Democracia Social), (CPDS) and a member of the coordination body for Somos+, a civil society platform established in 2015 which carries out human rights work.
Joaquin Elo Ayeto’s detention took place a few days after he, with some other representatives from Annabon island, visited the French embassy in Malabo. The purpose of the meeting was to reinforce cooperation between the embassy and the human rights platform Somos+. Somos+ was working to expose the human rights violations that have been taking place recently in the Annabon island following the demonstrations of its inhabitants against the impact of some mining dynamite explosions taking place.
According to some media reports, a gendarmerie officer said that "Joaquin operates clandestinely and his association is illegal".
This is not the first time that Joaquín Elo Ayeto has been targeted for his human rights work. Over the past eight years, he has been a victim of threats, harassment and multiple arrests and detentions. On 29 November 2016, two military officers beat him after he posted an article online about an officer refusing to pay a toll. On 27 June 2017, he was arrested again after he and others from Somos+ had taken part in an event calling for justice for the death of a young taxi driver, allegedly killed by the army. A week later he was released. On 25 February 2019, he was arrested at his house in Malabo after being accused of having information on a plot to kill the president. He was allegedly subjected to torture at least twice while being held at the Central Police Station, which resulted in physical injuries. He was transferred to the Malabo Black Beach Prison where he spent almost a year in pre-trial detention until President Obiang ordered his release on 14 February 2020. He was again detained in December 2022 for organizing a conference on human rights and corruption in Equatorial Guinea "without official authorization" on International Human Rights Day.
In a short video posted on Facebook a few hours before his arrest on 1 August 2024, Joaquin Elo Ayeto said he was tired of being constantly arrested.
Article 13 of the Equatorial Guinea Constitution guarantees the rights to freedom of association, expression and peaceful assembly.
On 3 August, Angel Obama Obiang Eseng, Joaquin Elo Ayeto’s lawyer was arrested and detained for 48 hours just for assisting his client. He was accused of providing legal representation for an illegal organization. He was subsequently released. However, on 14 August, he was temporary suspended as member of the Equatorial Guinea BAR Association, preventing him from practicing as lawyer. According to the Bar Association, defending Joaquin Elo Ayeto’s organization was contrary to the association’s statute. In addition to Joaquín Elo Ayeto, Angel Obama was also the lawyer of other human rights defenders and was working on other human rights cases.