Tuesday, February 10, 2015

SOCCER WARS: Opposition CPDS Party Denounces Arrests of 600 People in Malabo

2/10/2015

MADRID – The major opposition party in Equatorial Guinea, Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS), on Monday denounced the continued detention of 600 people in Malabo’s Central Police Station, following riots that took place during last week’s African Cup of Nations, ACN, semifinals clash between Equatorial Guinea and Ghana.

Efe received on Monday a copy of a statement released by the party’s secretary general, Andres Esono, in which he decried these arrests.

The CPDS notes that more than 600 young people and minors, arrested between Thursday and Friday, are still being held in three cells in the capital’s central police station.

The party confirmed that Santiago Aparicio Abeso Mba, the CPDS’ representative in Spain, is among the detainees.

The party demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all those “unjustly detained,” and held the regime of General Teodoro Obiang responsible for any bodily harm they could suffer during their confinement.

The secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), Jeronimo Osa Osa Econo, said in a telephone statement to EFE made from the city of Bata that the police only arrested the instigators of last week’s incidents to bring them to justice after conducting interrogations.

Osa Osa justified the arrests as necessary to “avoid further violence in soccer stadiums and on the streets,” adding that the members of the CPDS “always want a climate of disorder to denigrate the image of our government.”

He also claimed that hosting the 2015 African Cup of Nations was a success and a national celebration. “Everything went well and the people are happy,” he noted.

The international soccer tournament ended on Sunday, with Cote d’Ivoire winning the African trophy for the second time in its history after defeating Ghana 9-8 in the penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw.


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