To: Health Professional Network
From: Health and Human Rights Team
Date: 19 March 2007
Health Professional Action
Equatorial Guinea
Guillermo Nguema Ela Donato Ondó Ondó and other detainees in Black Beach prison
Summary:
At least 35 prisoners of conscience and political prisoners at Black Beach prison in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, are being denied medical treatment. The precise number of prisoners held at the prison or the state of health of all of them is unknown, but it is reported that many suffer from chronic conditions for which they receive no medical care. Two of the prisoners, Guillermo Nguema Elá and Donato Ondó Ondó, adopted by AI as prisoners of conscience, are known to be seriously unwell as a result of chronic ailments, poor prison conditions and the refusal of the prison authorities to provide them with medical care. Amnesty International is gravely concerned about their health, and fears that their lives, and those of other prisoners, may be at risk.
Background:
All of those detained at Black Beach prison are currently denied access to medical treatment, after an apparent change in policy in late 2006.
Conditions in Black Beach prison had improved slightly at the end of 2005 as a result of the opening of a new wing and regular visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Throughout most of 2006, a doctor or nurse visited the prison monthly and provided medical care to the prisoners and advised the prison on the need to send sick prisoners for treatment to the hospital or a doctor outside.
However, since November 2006 prisoners have not been allowed visits of longer than 5-15 minutes daily, and since at least early January 2007 the prison authorities have not provided medical treatment to prisoners. Medical personnel have not been allowed to visit the prison nor have the prisoners been taken for treatment to hospital or to see a doctor outside the prison. In addition, the prison authorities do not provide medicines to those who need them. Many of the prisoners suffer from a variety of chronic ailments for which they do not normally get medical treatment. Denying sick prisoners access to a qualified medical officer contravenes the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Guillermo Nguema Elá suffers from diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure) and has been prescribed daily medication. Until the restrictions on medical treatment were imposed, he was taken for medical check ups outside prison once a week. In late February he reportedly became very ill. His sugar level and his blood pressure apparently reached very high levels, and he became feverish and dehydrated. He is reported to have lost a lot of weight. His health began to improve about the beginning of March 2007 after his wife took him some medicines.
Donato Ondó Ondó is reported to have been very ill on several occasions. It is reported that for the past two years he has been suffering from alopecia (loss of hair) and skin problems. Donato Ondó is not known to have been examined by a doctor, nor is he receiving any medical treatment.
Guillermo Nguema Elá and Donato Ondó Ondó were part of a group of over 140 people, all members of the political party Democratic Republican Force (Fuerza Demócrata Republicana – FDR), who were arrested in March 2002 and charged with attempting to overthrow the government. They were sentenced in May and June 2002 to 20 years’ imprisonment after a trial that failed to uphold international standards. Sixty six of their co-defendants were also convicted as charged but most of these have been released under the terms of several presidential pardons. Guillerno Nguema Elá and Donato Ondó Ondó and 11 others, however, remain in Black Beach prison in Malabo. Most, if not all, were severely tortured at the time of their arrest. At least three of them died in detention as a result of ill-health caused in part from injuries sustained under torture, for which they did not receive medical treatment.
Recommended actions:
Please write letters in Spanish, French or your language to the authorities listed below:
Minister of Justice and Religion Sr Don Mauricio Bokung Asumu Ministro de Justicia y Culto Ministerio de Justicia y Culto Malabo República de Guinea Ecuatorial Fax: +240 09 21 26 Vice Prime Minister (in charge of human rights) Sr Don Aniceto Ebiaka Muete Vice-Primer Ministro Responsable por Asuntos Sociales y Derechos Humanos Gabinete del Vice Primer Ministro Palacio del Pueblo Malabo República de Guinea Ecuatorial Minister of Health Sr Don Antonio Martín Ndong Nchuchuma Ministro de Sanidad y Bienestar Social Ministerio de Sanidad y Bienestar Social Malabo República de Guinea Ecuatorial
Copies to:
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Sr Don Pastor Michá Ondó Bile Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores y Cooperación Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores Malabo República de Guinea Ecuatorial Fax: +240 09 3132/2320
President of Parliament and the Parliamentary human Rights Comisión Sr Don Salomón Nguema Owono Presidente de la Cámara de Representantes del Pueblo y de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos de la Cámara de Representantes del Pueblo Cámara de Representantes del Pueblo CP 51 Malabo República de Guinea Ecuatorial
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Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, WC1X 0DW, London, United Kingdom
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