Interviews with Tutu Alicante

My friend, Dr. Wenceslao Mansogo Alo, a respected physician, fervent human rights and pro-democracy advocate, was arrested and imprisoned on February 9th in retaliation, basically, for his outspokenness. Wenceslao had been with me to speak in Geneva in front of the Human Rights Council. He’s been with me to Washington, D.C., to meet with – for people in Congress, congressional staffers and people at State Department. Wenceslao has sent letters to UNESCO against the UNESCO Obiang prize.

Wenceslao is someone that year after year has produced a human rights report from inside the country, documenting the situation of political prisoners, of torture of innocent civilians, of arbitrary detention and of people that have been expelled of their properties. In retaliation from – for all that work, Wenceslao was arrested on February 9th. How was he arrested? Well, as a physician, he was in the middle of performing an operation, and a patient died. The government then sent the minister of health, who issued a report saying that the patient had died as a result of too much anesthesia – the dosage of anesthesia was too large.

The anesthesiologist was never charged, or initially not charged, and never arrested. Wenceslao Mansogo went to jail on February 9th. Right before his trial a couple of weeks ago, then they arrested the anesthesiologist. And he was facing – the prosecutor tried him for – was demanding, actually, from the charge, that Wenceslao Mansogo be given a sentence of six years. During the trial, not a shred of evidence was presented showing that Dr. Wenceslao had caused the death of this patient.

Nevertheless, we know since the trial that President Obiang is hoping to make an example out of this case and give Wenceslao a sentence of between three and six years and probably pardon him during one of his birthdays or another national holiday to show his benevolence to the people in the country and internationally. I’m such a good president, then, that I will pardon a man that was innocent to begin with, that shouldn’t have been in jail to begin with.

Tutu Alicante is a human rights lawyer from the island of Annobon in Equatorial Guinea. In 1993, Mr. Alicante was in a Roman Catholic seminary, preparing for the priesthood. A group of citizens, among them one of Mr. Alicante’s cousins, organized a peaceful demonstration at the governor’s house calling for respect for human rights and measures to address widespread poverty. In response, government forces arrested and killed a number of the demonstrators and burned Mr. Alicante’s family home to the ground. He left Equatorial Guinea in 1994 to pursue his education abroad.

After obtaining a law degree from the University of Tennessee and a Masters in Law from Columbia University, he worked on legal defense programs for migrant farm workers and as a consultant for a branch of the Open Society Institute promoting legal accountability and transparency in extractive industries.

Tutu Alicante founded and serves as Executive Director of EG Justice, a nonprofit and nongovernmental organization that educates, empowers, and engages a new generation of democracy and human rights advocates at home and abroad. It undertakes grassroots campaigns to reform institutions inside Equatorial Guinea and
documents human rights violations, collecting oral and written testimonies inside the country and abroad to hold violators accountable. EG Justice publishes periodic reports and educates the public. EG Justice collaborates with international institutions to bring critical human rights issues to the attention of global policymakers, including the United Nations, the African Union, and other multilateral organizations. It undertakes and supports legal advocacy to hold human rights abusers accountable in local, regional, and international tribunals and works closely with community-based partners to empower them through the litigation process.

Follow Tutu Alicante on Twitter at @TutuAlicante and follow EG Justice on Twitter at @EGJustice