On 1 August, Equatorial Guinean human rights defender Joaquín Elo Ayeto was arrested at his house in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea’s capital, when members of the Gendarmerie forcibly entered his house and took him away. He was accused of carrying out illegal activities through the civil society platform, Somos +, which he is a member of and which the authorities claim is not legally registered. He was initially sent to Malabo Black Beach prison before being transferred on 13 August to Oveng Azem prison, in the eastern city of Mongomo, where he is held in pretrial detention. The Equatorial Guinean authorities must immediately release Joaquín Elo Ayeto from arbitrary detention which stems solely from his work as a human rights defender.
