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With a population of about 1.4 million split between a mainland
on the Central African coast and an island in the Gulf of
Guinea, Equatorial Guinea has a poor record on human rights.
Campaign groups and foreign powers have accused the Obiang
government of torture, arbitrary detentions and sham trials.
Amnesty International says the last executions there took place
in the tiny, oil-producing state in 2014. Obiang had said in
2019 that he would propose a law to end capital punishment.
The new penal law, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, is dated Aug. 17
but was officially published over the weekend. It will come into
force 90 days after publication, the document said.
Obiang's son, Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue,
described the abolition as "historical and memorable".
"I write it with capital letters to seal this unique moment," he
tweeted on Monday. "EQUATORIAL GUINEA HAS ABOLISHED THE DEATH
PENALTY."
Capital punishment remains legal in just over 30 African
countries, but more than 20 of those have not carried out
executions for at least 10 years, according to data provider
Statista.
Obiang, 80, has ruled Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish
colony, since he seized power in a coup in 1979, making him the
world's longest-serving president in office.
Political dissent is suppressed under Obiang, and the wealth he
and his family have acquired from offshore oil wells has failed
to benefit most of the population.
Obiang Mangue was tried in absentia and convicted of
embezzlement by a French court in 2020 in relation to luxury
assets seized in France, including a mansion in the heart of
Paris. He denies any wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Bernardino Ndze Biyoa; Writing by Sofia
Christensen; Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Mark Heinrich)
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