The Equatoguinean vice president, Teodoro Nguema Obiang, known as ‘Teodorín’, has accused Spain of «interference», as well as of «humiliating» and «discrediting» Equatorial Guinea after the Audiencia Nacional opened an investigation against Carmelo Ovono Obiang, son of the president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, and two leaders of his government.
«I recommend to all members of the Government of Equatorial Guinea to avoid traveling to the Kingdom of Spain so as not to be humiliated, because that European country does not want the prosperity of Equatoguineans. It only wants to humiliate our country, commit interference and disrespect our sovereignty,» he said on his official Twitter profile.
In another message, ‘Teodorín’ has harshly charged against Spain and has branded the case as «a comic story of Cantinflas», in reference to the comedian. «I reiterate that Western justice is politicized to the hilt», he said.
Likewise, he has pointed out that Spain seeks to «discredit» Equatorial Guinea» and «distort history». «These terrorists were arrested by the Sudanese authorities and extradited to Equatorial Guinea,» he stressed in another message on the aforementioned social network.
The head of the Central Court of Instruction Number 5 admitted for processing last October 31 a complaint filed by the Movement for the Liberation of Equatorial Guinea Third Republic (MLGE3R) against Carmelo Ovono, Secretary of State for Foreign Security in Equatorial Guinea, and against Nicolas Obama Nchama, Minister of National Security of Equatorial Guinea.
A month later, the investigator issued a new order in which he agreed to extend the initial complaint and agreed to have a third person investigated: the general director of Presidential Security, Issac Nguema. In the same month of November, the magistrate asked the General Commissariat of Information to inform whether all of them had diplomatic status in Spain at that time.
The complaint focuses on the alleged kidnapping and subsequent torture of four members of the MLGE3R: the Spanish residents Martin Obiang and Bienvenido Ndong and the Spanish nationals Feliciano Efa and Julio Obama Mefuman. The events allegedly took place during a trip from Madrid to Yuba, South Sudan, where they were captured on November 15, 2019.
According to the complaint, to which Europa Press has had access, all of them were «clandestinely transferred in an official plane of the regime of Equatorial Guinea, and locked up in a detention center located in Oveng Asem, in the demarcation of Mongomo, where they continue to this day». «They were tortured and forced to apologize to the leader of the Equatoguinean regime under pressure in front of Equatorial Guinea’s public TV,» the letter states.
It states that both Ovono Obiang and Obama Nchama were allegedly present both in the official plane that carried out the kidnapping and that they directed «some of the torture sessions in the basements of the penitentiary». It also explains that both defendants «would reside in Spain, would have a stable address, and could also be found» in national territory.
The kidnapping would have occurred, according to the complaint, as a result of an invitation from a friend to the four opponents to travel from South Sudan to Ethiopia. This invitation turned out to be a trap to carry out their capture and subsequent transfer to Equatorial Guinea.
The investigators consider that the testimonies recorded by the victims and the statements of the protected witnesses in the case «are strong evidence that determine the existence of the crimes under investigation, mainly kidnapping and torture, two of the victims being Spanish citizens and the other two Equatoguineans residing and asylum seekers in Spain».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
