Julio Obama Mefumanone of the Spanish opponents of Equatorial Guinea detained, imprisoned and tortured, has died in Oveng Azem prison. The death has been communicated by the Movement for the Liberation of Equatorial Guinea Third Republic, which reports that the relatives of Julio Obama have in turn been notified by the Spanish diplomatic authorities.
Along with Julio Obama Mefuman, three other opponents, including the Spanish Feliciano Efa Mangue, were kidnapped in November 2019 in Juba (South Sudan). Later they were transferred to Equatorial Guinea where they remained locked in underground cells and were tortured. The two Spaniards were serving 90 and 70 years in prison accused by the Equatorial Guinean authorities of participating in a military coup.
The Spanish National Court had opened a case and investigated three senior officials of the Equatorial Guinean regime for torture the two Spanish citizens. Among those investigated is Carmelo Ovono Obian, Secretary of State for Foreign Security and son of the president of the Central African country, Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
From the communiqué of the Movement for the Liberation of Equatorial Guinea Third Republic, the Spanish institutions are accused of “lack of involvement” and “weakness” when it comes to fighting “against the tyranny of Obiang.” Because of this, they say, “a
Spanish citizen has just died in torture, the product of a cruel revenge that threatens all of Spain”.
The torture to which they were subjected
The prison official who helped the detainees contact their relatives in Spain appears in a video of the summary of the case that Judge Santiago Pedraz is carrying at the National Court. In it, he describes the torture to which they were subjected: from electric shocks until pour them very hot water over the body.
They also used with them the crocodile methodwhich consists of tying the prisoners hand and foot, pierced by a long stick and hanging upside down so that the blood does not circulate well through the veins.
After learning that the Spanish National Court was investigating these tortures, the country’s vice president and son of the president, Teddy Nguema, wrote on his social networks that the information about the kidnapping of the two Spaniards seemed to him “a comic story by Cantinflas.”
“What kidnapping is the Spanish press talking about if they are individuals who were in search and capture for having attempted a coup in Equatorial Guinea?” he questioned. In addition, she also accused the Government of Spain of “discrediting” the name of Equatorial Guinea.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
