Police brutality unfortunately ranks high in the list of things Equatorial Guinea is known for. A disturbing event took place on February 21 and 22 in the town of Baney. A brawl occurred between a resident of this town, José Boba Bopa, and police officer Pedro Mba Mesie, who, with the collaboration of the town police Commissioner left José Boba Bopa with multiple cranial trauma, whose further consequences are still unforeseeable.
José Boba Bopa was brutally tortured by the police with iron bars and police knives, causing serious injuries, and leaving him unconscious for a long time.
It all started as a verbal fight between José Boba Bopa and policeman Pedro Mba Mesie, where the Commissioner eventually intervened on policeman’s side. The two carried out an arbitrary arrest against José Boba Bopa around 04:00 on the 22nd. Once transferred to the Police Station, they started brutally torturing him. The victim’s screams woke up the neighbours.
The current law prohibits all kinds of torture and inhumane treatment in Equatorial Guinea. The police committed several crimes.
As of today, José Boba Bopa is still hospitalised at the Lorei Combá Clinic. He cannot afford the health expenses that his treatment requires.
Baney Youth Organisarion makes efforts to raise funds to cover his treatment. It is asked that justice be done, that he be provided with a life pension since after being discharged as a fisherman, he can survive on his own only for so long. His injuries can leave serious lasting consequences.
This type of acts of torture becomes common in Baney by the uniformed men who serve in this district. There are recent arbitrary acts carried out by these same policemen, and they are known aggressors.
If delved deeper in the past of this type of practice, one may find the case of the young Eleuterio Boko Beña, alias Tembí, brutally tortured by the police in November 1995, and later admitted to the Malabo General Hospital, where he died on December 10, 1995. Days before, in November, his case was dealt with by the United Nations special rapporteur for Equatorial Guinea, Alejandro Artucio, who brought this case to the attention of President Obiang. On those dates, Obiang, during his sudden visit to the General Hospital, stopped at the bed where Tembí lay, to wish him luck in his future life. Eleuterio Boko Beña died as a result of the torture he received at the Baney Police Station. He left his son an orphan.
Many of these cases go unpunished, and the torturers continue with their lives as if nothing happened. They treat the defenseless population the only way they know how, that is torturing for pleasure. Asking the competent authorities for their aid is useless, simply because they are complying with instructions from superiors.
