Fabián Nsue Nguema is the most prominent human-rights lawyer in Equatorial Guinea which, under Teodoro Obiang, has been referred to as one of the most repressive regimes in Africa.
[1] He is a member of Equatorial Guinea's only legal opposition party, Unión Popular (UP), which frequently denounces human rights violations, and of which he has served as secretary-general.
The administration of justice in Equatorial Guinea continues to be of grave concern to the IBA.”[10] Nsue represented Simon Mann, a British citizen who was jailed in 2008 for plotting to overthrow the president.
[11] According to the Human Rights Foundation, Nsue “defended Weja Chicambo, a former prisoner of conscience and the founder of an 'illegal' opposition party.” He was also the defense lawyer for four UP members who were accused of having assaulted the Presidential Palace in February 2009, even though, according to the Human Rights Foundation, “the four men were in exile in Benin when the attack occurred.” (The four men “were later tracked down, brought back to Equatorial Guinea, tortured, and executed,”[12] Over the course of his career, he has frequently been harassed by the government of Equatorial Guinea.
[15][16][17][18][19] Nsue's client Augustín Esono Ngoso[20] was arrested on or around October 16, 2012, allegedly because of his supposed ties to the non-governmental organisation Transparency International France, which had been investigating corruption on the part of Obiang and his son.
“The government needs to urgently investigate the situation, determine whether he is being held in secret detention, contrary to national and international law, and publicly clarify his whereabouts.” “Nsue’s career as a lawyer has been dedicated to fighting injustice and upholding the law, even in the face of harsh government repression,” said Tutu Alicante, executive director of EG Justice, a US-based group that advocates for human rights in Equatorial Guinea.
[27][28][29][30] Nsue told the Voice of America in 2008 that Equatorial Guinea is “a criminal state run mostly by greedy illiterates” and that “even though there has been international attention on the problem of human rights in Equatorial Guinea, he thinks the situation is getting worse.” Describing “weekly arbitrary arrests, indefinite detentions without trial, and dozens of political prisoners,” he complained that judges “do not have proper training or independence” and that “authorities use alleged coup attempts to crack down on basic freedoms even more.”[31]