Leading activist allegedly assaulted

Activists in Equatorial Guinea claim security officials detained and assaulted the head of their human rights and development organisation over the weekend. Alfredo Okenve was ‘sequestered ... (and) mistreated by security forces wearing civilian clothes’, the Centre for Studies and Initiatives for the Development of Equatorial Guinea (CEID-GE) said in a statement. Okenve's relative Analeto Medja said ‘they took him to some wasteland and beat him hard until he was bleeding’. A report on the News24 site notes that the centre said it would file a formal complaint, denouncing the harassment of civil society. Okenve was arrested and detained for several days in April 2017 for celebrating the 20th anniversary of the CEID-GE.