Equatorial Guinea: legal concern / fear of torture: Elvira Lawson Otavenga, Juan Nzo, Rafael Obiang

Elvira Lawson Otavenga, wife of political leader Juan Nzo, has been arrested, apparently for no other reason than to force her husband to come out of hiding. Juan Nzo, Vice Secretary of the Convergencia para la Democracia Social (CPDS) went into hiding on 22 May after police had apparently said that he would be beaten when found and would face charges. It is thought these charges may be related to newspapers and books that were confiscated from him after he returned from a trip to Spain. Elvira Lawson Otavenga was arrested on 23 May at her home in Malabo. She was forced to leave her 14-month-old baby in the house attended. In a separate incident Rafael Obiang, a leader of the Convergencia Social Democrata Popular (CSDP) was arrested without a warrant on 24 May for being in posssession of copies of La Verdad (The Truth), a monthly paper published by the CPDS. AI is calling for their immediate and unconditional release.

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