Amnesty hails scrapping of death penalty in Equatorial Guinea

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – International rights organization Amnesty International on Tuesday welcomed the abolition of the death penalty in Equatorial Guinea.

The Central African country abolished the death penalty after President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo signed into law a new legislation totally abolishing capital punishment in Equatorial Guinea’s penal code, state television reported on Monday.

“We welcome the abolition of the death penalty in the Equatorial Guinean penal code. We hope this will pave the way for other measures to fight against human rights violations. We encourage African retentionist states to abolish the death penalty,” Amnesty International said on Twitter.

The new penal law, officially published over the weekend, will come into force 90 days after publication.

It comes roughly three years after Obiang pledged in 2019 to propose a law to end capital punishment.

According to Amnesty International, the Central African country carried out its last executions in 2014.

Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, Equatorial Guinea’s vice president and the president’s son, was quoted as dubbing the decision “historical and memorable.”

Amnesty International is opposed to the death penalty in all cases and under any circumstances, regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.

According to German data provider Statista, capital punishment remains legal in more than 30 African countries, but over 20 of them have not carried out executions for at least 10 years.