A/HRC/13/39/Add.4
to stay in that position until the next morning, when the senior officer ordered several
soldiers to beat him with police truncheons while he was questioned. During the beating he
was handcuffed and ordered to sit on the ground with stretched legs. The soldier, who
conducted the beating stood in front of him and hit his lower legs while the interrogation
continued for about 15 minutes. When he was told to stand up he was not able to do so. His
soles were very swollen, and he had to move back to the cell on his knees as he was still
handcuffed. He could not stand on his feet for the next two days and at the time of the
Special Rapporteur’s visit he still suffered from pain in his legs. According to the forensic
expert, his account of the beating and the symptoms corroborated the events. He was later
interviewed about the beatings, and the interview was broadcasted on television. After three
weeks at the gendarmerie, he was transferred to Bata Prison, although the person who had
committed the robbery had in the meantime been arrested. At the time of the visit he had
spent about six weeks in Bata Prison.
In early November 2008, he was accused by another detainee of having been drinking
(drinks were reportedly brought into the prison and the detainees could buy them). On that
same evening, a soldier came to him and threatened that he would be punished the next
morning. On the following morning soldiers took him out into the courtyard and beat him
all over his body, including his back and his arms and his legs for 10 minutes with a police
truncheon. The beating and kicking took place in front of other detainees. He was not
handcuffed because the soldiers could not find the key, so he had to stretch out his arms in
front of him and embrace a pole. The beating left marks on his left knee, right sole and left
elbow. His left wrist was injured. He also said that he felt pain in his testicles. According to
the forensic expert, his injuries seemed to be the result of the corporal punishment in the
courtyard.
Male detainee, had been deprived of his liberty for more than four years. In 2004, he was
detained abroad together with many others, despite the fact that he was carrying valid
documents. The detainees were hooded, handcuffed and forced to enter a plane. In the
plane, they had to lie down on the floor, face down, and had their feet chained together.
They were flown to Malabo and brought to Black Beach Prison. He was held
incommunicado for the first 12 months. The first month he spent in solitary confinement, in
a very small cell measuring about 1,45m x 1,45m, after which he was taken to another cell
measuring 2 x 2 m, which he shared with another detainee. After 12 months he was allowed
to leave the cell, the handcuffs were only taken off after 18 months. He said that for two
years he could not speak to his family or be in contact with his lawyer. After about three
years, he was transferred to Bata and tried before a judge, who sentenced him to a long
prison term and a fine. He said his family was trying to raise the money, but he feared he
would not be able to pay the full fine, in which case he said he would continue to be
detained indefinitely.
He reported that he suffered from health problems, which he said were a result of the
confinement in very small cells in Black Beach Prison. Whereas he had received some
treatment, for which his family paid, he thought that it had been insufficient.
Central Police Station Bata
Visited on 14 and 17 November 2008
General information (first visit): The Central Police Station had been moved from
Bomudi area into a new building constructed by the French company Bouygues one year
earlier. The detention facilities were located in a two story building annexed to the back of
the main building hosting the offices. At the end of his visit, the Special Rapporteur was
received by Bienvenido Esono Engonga, Director of Bata Police (Commissario Jefe
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