The brutal kleptocracy of Equatorial Guinea hopes to gain a measure of international acceptance by hosting the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) soccer spectacle that kicked off last weekend. The oil and gas wealth generated by this “Kuwait of Africa” provides the economic wherewithal for the ruling elite to buy favours while the bulk of the population wallows in repressive poverty.

Authorities in Equatorial Guinea have arbitrarily detained the prominent lawyer Fabián Nsue Nguema in Black Beach prison in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, and are refusing to allow him visitors, EG Justice and Human Rights Watch said. Nsue’s wife told Human Rights Watch that she was twice refused when she asked to see her husband but that prison authorities had privately confirmed to her that he is being held there.

A top human rights lawyer in Equatorial Guinea has gone missing, fuelling concern that he has been illegally detained, a rights group has said. Fabian Nsue Nguema was last known to have visited a jail on Monday to see a client, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. Equatorial Guinea's government has not yet commented on his alleged detention.

Nsue has been harassed by the government on numerous occasions, raising concerns that his detention is politically motivated. In 2002 he was tortured while in government custody.

The UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences, controversially endowed by Equatorial Guinea, was finally awarded in Paris 17 July, after years of wrangling and postponements. The three prize winners - from Egypt, Mexico and South Africa - each received US$100,000 from Equatorial Guinea's vice president, Ignacio Milam Tang, amid speculation about whether the country's dictatorial president, and the prize's original funder, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, would attend in person (he did not).

UNESCO’s decision to issue a controversial prize sponsored by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea is disappointing and irresponsible, seven civil society groups said. A ceremony to award the prize was scheduled for July 17, 2012, in Paris. Obiang, in power for 33 years, leads a government known for corruption and repression.

Dr Mansogo was convicted for professional negligence and sentenced to three years in prison in a politically motivated trial.

Authorities in Equatorial Guinea should cease all harassment of a jailed political opponent and those close to him, Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights and EG Justice said today (25 May).

The conviction of a prominent member of Equatorial Guinea’s beleaguered political opposition is a travesty of justice, Human Rights Watch said. A trial court in the city of Bata found Wenceslao Mansogo Alo, a medical doctor, guilty of professional negligence and sentenced him to three years in prison in a politically motivated trial.

(Paris, April 12, 2012) – The French Ministry of Justice should move swiftly to issue an international arrest warrant for the son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, EG Justice, Human Rights Watch, and SHERPA said today. On April 11, 2012, judicial sources confirmed that a French public prosecutor has endorsed the request of investigating magistrates to issue a warrant for Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue (“Teodorín”) over allegations of money laundering in connection with his lavish purchases in France.

Dr. Wenceslao Mansogo, a medical doctor, prominent human rights defender and opposition party leader, has been detained since February 9 over allegations of professional negligence and mutilation of a body. Amnesty International considers Dr. Mansogo a prisoner of conscience. Dr. Mansogo has not been ill-treated and he is allowed to receive visitors.

Two French judges sought an international arrest warrant for the son of Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema on money laundering charges, a judicial source said on Tuesday 27 March. The two judges, Roger Le Loire and Rene Grouman, consider there are grounds to suspect that Teodorin Obiang, who is agriculture minister in the small, oil-rich central African country, acquired real estate in France by fraudulent means.

Brazil is supporting the controversial UNESCO-Obiang prize in an attempt to improve relations with President Obiang, but this puts Brazil's own international reputation at stake. Brazil is showing questionable judgment by actively supporting the UNESCO-Obiang prize in an apparent effort to strengthen its relations with the regime of President Obiang, which has accumulated a long list of human rights violations in the course of its 32 years in power, says this article on the EG Justice website.

On 14 February, French authorities searched the upscale Paris residence associated with President Obiang’s son, Teodoro 'Teodorín' Nguema Obiang, as part of a probe into the 'ill-gotten gains' of President Obiang and two other African Heads-of-State. Teodorín is the target of ongoing government corruption investigations in the United States and France, report EG Justice.

The detention without charge of Dr. Wenceslao Mansogo Alo, a medical doctor who is also a prominent human rights defender and opposition member in Equatorial Guinea, for more than five days following the death of a patient during surgery is a source of serious concern, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. Both organizations are calling for his immediate release. Mansogo is a member of the leadership of the opposition Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS) party and serves as its secretary for international relations and human rights. He is a medical doctor and owns and runs a private clinic in the city of Bata. He is also a member of the local city council.

Latin American and African dignitaries gathering in Equatorial Guinea for a cross-regional meeting should press their host, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasago, on his human rights record, EG Justice and Human Rights Watch said. This ahead of a Africa-South America Summit that took place between 22-25 November 2011.

Equatorial Guineans voted Sunday in a referendum on a new constitution that would limit presidential terms to two and strengthen the small oil state's democracy. The opposition has branded the vote a 'masquerade' because the text does not make clear whether President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Africa's longest-serving leader, will have to step down when his term ends in 2016. Obiang, who currently chairs the African Union, is on an offensive to win himself a clean bill of health on the international scene and reverse his country's reputation as one of Africa's most corrupt and autocratic.

Equatoguinean president Teodoro Obiang has proposed several changes to the constitution of Equatorial Guinea, including establishing a limit of two terms of seven years on the presidency, creating the office of vice-president, adding a second chamber to parliament, and creating a 'Court of Auditors' to oversee government programs, contracts and expenditures. This post lists the proposed changes.

Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, a government minister in the West African county, used his position to siphon millions of dollars for his own personal use, authorities said in two civil forfeiture complaints filed in US District Court in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The complaints say Mangue's assets can be forfeited because he engaged in misappropriation and theft of public funds for his benefit. The US government is seeking to recover $70 million in stolen funds from Nguema.

On 28 September, French authorities seized 11 luxury cars belonging to the family of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema as part of an ongoing corruption investigation, reports 'The seizures are part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the “ill-gotten gains” of African leaders Dennis Sassou Nguesso of Congo, the late Omar Bongo of Gabon, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea. A judicial inquiry began after the NGOs Transparency International France, Sherpa, and the Arab Commission for Human Rights filed a complaint in 2007. In 2009, France’s Supreme Court ruled to admit the case, a landmark decision in the anti-corruption battle.'