Arbitrary detention of Mr. Nsé Ramón Esono Ebalé

Equatorial Guinea

November 14, 2017

The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in Equatorial Guinea.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed byreliable sources about the arbitrary arrest and detention of Mr. Nsé RamónEsono Ebalé (aka Jamón yQueso), cartoonist and blogger[1]. Mr. Esono Ebalé publisheda graphic novel entitled “Obi’s nightmare”[2] in which he depictsPresident Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo spending a day living as an ordinaryGuinean citizen and suffering the consequences of the regime he himself hascreated. The cartoons especially criticise the lack of access to electricity,healthcare, education and the restriction to freedom of expression in thecountry.

Accordingto the information received, on September 16, 2017, at around 7:00 pm, Mr.Esono Ebalé and two Spanish nationals were arrested by state security guardswhen leaving a restaurant in Malabo. They were taken for questioning at the Officeof Counter-Terrorism and Dangerous Activities at the Malabo Central Police Station.

The twoSpanish nationals were released that same day. Mr. Esono Ebalé was questionedabout his drawings of President Obiang, andabout a number of cartoons which the police called defamatory.

OnSeptember 19, 2017, the national television announced that Mr. Esono Ebalé hadbeen arrested and accused by the police of money laundering and currencycounterfeiting, crimes that can carry a 40-year prison sentence.

OnSeptember 20, 2017 a judge ordered the provisional detention of Mr. Esono Ebaléand his transfer to Black Beach prison where he is still being held.

TheObservatory denounces the arbitrary arrest and detention of Mr. Esono Ebaléwhich are considered to be retaliation for his work defending human rights,especially freedom of expression.

TheObservatory calls on the Equato-Guinean authorities to immediately andunconditionally release Mr. Esono Ebalé and guarantee his physical andpsychological safety and integrity.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Equatorial Guinea urging them to:

i. Immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Esono Ebalé and all human rightsdefenders arbitrarily detained in Equatorial Guinea;

ii. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical andpsychological integrity of Mr. EsonoEbalé, as well as all human rights defenders in Equatorial Guinea;

iii. Put an end to all forms of harassment,including judicial harassment, against Mr. Esono Ebalé and all human rightsdefenders in Equatorial Guinea;

iv. Comply with the provisions of the UnitedNations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN GeneralAssembly on December 9, 1998, in particular Articles 1 and 12.2;

v. More generally, ensure in allcircumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms inaccordance with international human rights standards and instruments ratifiedby Equatorial Guinea.

Addresses:

· Mr. TeodoroObiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea;

· Mr. TeodoroNguema Obiang Mangue, Vice President of the Republic, in charge of nationaldefence and state security;

· Mr. AlfonsoNsue Mokuy, Vice Prime Minister in charge of Human Rights; Tel + 240 222 134407

· Mr. ClementeEngonga Nguema, Minister of the Interior and Local Corporations, Fax: +240 33309 2683/ 2688/ 3406

· Mrs.Evangelina Filomena Oyo Ebule, Minister of Justice, Religious Affairs and PenitentiaryInstitutions;

· Mr. DavidNguema Obiang, Chief Prosecutor, Fax: +240 333 09 1338/ 4961

· Mr. MarcelinoNguema Onguene, Ombudsman ; Tel +240 222 275 979

· PermanentMission of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea to the United Nations in Geneva,Chemin de La Voie-Creuse 3c, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 734 39 60,Email: mision.guineacuatorial_gva@yahoo.com

· H.E. CarmeloNvono-Nca, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea in Belgium,G. van Arezzoplein 6, 1180 Brussels, Belgium; Fax: (+32) 2 346 33 09, Email: guineaecuatorial.brux@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic representations ofEquatorial Guinea in your respective country.

***

Paris-Geneva, November 14, 2017

Kindly inform us of anyaction undertaken, quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and OMCT The objectiveof this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repressionagainst human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members ofProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanismimplemented by international civil society.

To contactthe Observatory, call the emergency line:

· Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and faxFIDH: +33 (0)1 43 55 25 18 / 01 43 55 18 80

· Tel and faxOMCT: +41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29

[1] Mr Esono Ebalé created the blog Locos TV on which he published a dailycaricature of an Equato-Guinean politician, until the authorities closed theblog in 2014.

[2] La Pesadilla de Obi, 2015, https://pubhtml5.com/owts/ndmk @font-face { font-family: "Arial";}@font-face { font-family: "Courier New";}@font-face { font-family: "Times";}@font-face { font-family: "Wingdings";}@font-face { font-family: "ＭＳ 明朝";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}@font-face { font-family: "Tahoma";}@font-face { font-family: "DejaVu Sans";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }h2 { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; page-break-after: avoid; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: normal; }h4 { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; page-break-after: avoid; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: normal; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText { margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }p { margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Times; }p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 36pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 36pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 36pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 36pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }span.Titre2Car { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }span.Titre4Car { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }span.FootnoteCharacters { vertical-align: super; }span.WW-FootnoteReference4 { vertical-align: super; }span.CorpsdetexteCar { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }span.NotedebasdepageCar { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }span.PieddepageCar { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }span.En-tteCar { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.BodyText21, li.BodyText21, div.BodyText21 { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; }div.WordSection1 { }ol { margin-bottom: 0cm; }ul { margin-bottom: 0cm; }