Enrique Asumu and Alfredo Okenve arbitrarily detained
On 4 May 2017 at 8:30 pm, Alfredo Okenve was released from detention after paying a fine of 2 million Cfas (approximately 3,000 euro) which was imposed by the government of Equatorial Guinea. On 25 April 2017, Alfredo Okenve’s colleague, Enrique Asumu, was also released from detention after paying a fine the equivalent of 3,000 euro. No charges have been brought against either human rights defender. They had both been detained on 17 April.
Enrique Asumu and Alfredo Okenve are the President and Vice President of El Centro de Estudios e Iniciativas para el Desarrollo (Centre for Development Studies and Initiatives, CEID) respectively. CEID is an independent non-governmental organisation that has been advocating for the protection of social and economic rights of citizens of Equatorial Guinea since 1997.
On 4 May 2017 at 8:30 pm, Alfredo Okenve was released from detention after paying a fine of 2 million Cfas (approximately 3,000 euro) which was imposed by the government of Equatorial Guinea. On 25 April 2017, Alfredo Okenve’s colleague, Enrique Asumu, was also released from detention after paying a fine the equivalent of 3,000 euro. No charges have been brought against either human rights defender. They had both been detained on 17 April.
Enrique Asumu and Alfredo Okenve are the President and Vice President of El Centro de Estudios e Iniciativas para el Desarrollo (Centre for Development Studies and Initiatives, CEID) respectively. CEID is an independent non-governmental organisation that has been advocating for the protection of social and economic rights of citizens of Equatorial Guinea since 1997. 14 and 15 April 2017 marked the 20th anniversary of the founding of CEID and the organisation held an event which was attended by representatives of public institutions, civil society, companies and embassies, among others.
On 4 May 2017 at 8:30 pm, Alfredo Okenve was released from detention after an imposed fine of 2 million Cfas (approximately 3,000 euro) was paid on his behalf by his family and friends. Initially Alfredo Okenve refused to pay the fine, which is arbitrary and does not comport to any legal tenet in Equatorial Guinea. He believed he should not pay the fine unless the government granted some of the demands from civil society that were submitted in a meeting with the Prime Minister in April. Some of the demands are related to the cessation of all types of harassment against civil society. Alfredo Okenve previously experienced such harassment when he was dismissed from his university position in 2010 as a result of his human rights work.
During the course of their detention, the human rights defenders were held on the premises of the Minister of National Security, Nicolas Obama Nchama, which are housed in the same building as the Central Police Station in Malabo. Fearful for his safety and despite Alfredo Okenve’s refusal, friends and family of the human rights defender paid the fine on his behalf and he was subsequently released. On 25 April 2017, Enrique Asumu was released from detention after a fine of 3,000 euro was paid on his behalf due to fears for his deteriorating health.
On 17 April 2017, Equato-Guinean authorities arrested and arbitrarily detained the two human rights defenders in connection with allegations of illegally operating an NGO. The authorities exceeded the 72-hour period that Equato-Guinean law permits them to detain a person without charges and imposed a fine on each human rights defender. While Alfredo Okenve was in detention, his defence lawyer requested a meeting with the Minister of National Security, who ordered the initial arrest of both human rights defenders. This request was denied by the minister.
Front Line Defenders welcomes the release of human rights defenders Alfredo Okenve and Enrique Asumu, but condemns the detention and imposed arbitrary fines by the government as it believes that they are directly related to the human rights defenders’ legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights in Equatorial Guinea.
Alfredo Okenve has been held at the Central Police Station in Malabo since 17 April 2017. He has not been brought before a judge or formally charged in apparent violation of Equatorial Guinea’s laws. Rather, the Ministry of National Security has demanded he pay 2 Million Freancs CFAs (approximately $3,300) to secure his release. The ministry has offered no justification for this demand, nor was there any judicial oversight. Alfredo Okenve refuses to pay this fine, maintaining that both the arbitrary detention and fine are illegal. Enrique Asumu, president of CEID, was detained along with Alfredo Okenve, and was released only after paying the equivalent of $3,320.
On 17 April 2017, Equato-Guinean authorities arrested and arbitrarily detained human rights defenders, Enrique Asumu and Alfredo Okenve in connection with allegations of illegally operating an NGO. The authorities have exceeded the 72-hour period that Equatorial Guinean law permits them to detain a person without charge.
Enrique Asumu and Alfredo Okenve are the President and Vice President of El Centro de Estudios e Iniciativas para el Desarrollo (Centre for Development Studies and Initiatives, CEID) respectively. CEID is an independent non-governmental organisation that has been advocating for the protection of social and economic rights of citizens of Equatorial Guinea since 1997. 14 and 15 April 2017 marked the 20th anniversary of the founding of CEID and the organisation held an event which was attended by representatives of public institutions (Ministry of Mines), civil society, companies and embassies, among others.
On 16 April 2017, officers prevented Enrique Asumu from boarding a flight from the country’s island capital, Malabo, to the mainland city of Bata, claiming they were acting on the orders of the minister of national security. The following day, the national security minister interrogated Enrique Asumu and Alfredo Okenve in his office, which is housed in the same building as the Central Police Station in Malabo, for more than five hours. Both human rights defenders have been held in the office since. They have been permitted access to their colleagues, as well as family members and lawyers. But the authorities have not brought them before a judge, which the law requires within 24 hours. Nor have the authorities charged them, which under Equato-Guinean law must take place within 72 hours.
CEID was suspended from continuing its activities by the Ministry of the Interior in March 2016. The ministry stated that CEID was suspended for “disseminating among the Equato-guinean youth messages aimed at inciting to violence and civil disobedience”. The organisation appealed the suspension order, but received no response.. A representative of CEID contended that the April 2016 suspension of its operations was effective only for three months. The organisation resumed operating regularly in September 2016. Since then CEID has organised or participated in various activities with the presence of different ministries, including the Prime Minister, Pascual Obama Asue. According to members of the organisation, authorities have threatened to fine them 10 million CFA francs (approximately $16,000) for operating while the NGO was "suspended".
Front Line Defenders condemns the illegal arbitrary arrest and ongoing detention of human rights defenders Enrique Asumu and Alfredo Okenve as it believes that these actions are solely motivated by the human rights defenders’ legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights in Equatorial Guinea.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Equatorial Guinea to:
1. Immediately and unconditionally release Enrique Asumu and Alfredo Okenve, as detaining them for over 72 hours without charge is not permitted under Equatorial Guinean law;
2. Ensure that the treatment of Enrique Asumu and Alfredo Okenve, while in detention, adheres to the conditions set out in the ‘Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment', adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988;
3. Immediately and unconditionally remove the suspension of CEID;
4. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Equatorial Guinea are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
