Mercenaries 'heavily tortured'

2004-03-19 22:49

Dakar - Amnesty International expressed concern on Friday for 14 accused foreign mercenaries held for an alleged foiled coup plot in Equatorial Guinea, saying at least one of the men may have been tortured to death.

The London-based rights group also expressed alarm for a leading opposition activist held at the same prison as 14 accused of being mercenaries, and believed to have been severely tortured.

Equatorial Guinea, a newly oil-rich nation accused of chronic rights abuses under 25-year ruler Teodoro Obiang, has held the 14 men since their March 9 arrest in an alleged coup plot.

Zimbabwe, in southern Africa, had arrested 64 other alleged mercenaries two days earlier, stopping what authorities claimed was their trip to Equatorial Guinea to aid the overthrow of Obiang.

Most of those arrested were South African.

One of the men in custody in Equatorial Guinea, a German named Gerhard Eugen Nershz, died in custody from what Equatorial Guinea said was malaria, Amnesty International said.

Witnesses who saw Nershz in the hours before his death saw visible signs of torture on his body, the rights group said.

Opposition activist Weja Chicampo has been held at the same prison since March 4 and, like the other men, is reported to have been heavily tortured, Amnesty International said.

'Should allow immediate access to them'

"The authorities should immediately end any acts of torture and ill-treatment of the detainees and immediately allow unimpeded access to them by lawyers, independent medical practitioners, family members and consular officials," Amnesty International said in a statement.

Authorities allege that Spanish-based rebel leader Severo Moto offered the suspects $1.8m and oil rights to overthrow the government in Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony.

The men say they were headed to eastern Congo to provide security at mining operations.

- AP