Gumersindo Ramírez Faustino is an

Equatoguinean Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

political activist currently imprisoned on weapons possession charges. His imprisonment has drawn protest from the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

and Amnesty International, the latter of which considers him to be a prisoner of conscience. Ramírez Faustino was active with the

Progress Party of Equatorial Guinea The Progress Party of Equatorial Guinea ( es, Partido del Progreso de Guinea Ecuatorial) is a pro-market, pro-democracy political party in Equatorial Guinea. It was founded in Madrid in 1983 by Severo Moto. The party leadership has declared a ...

(PPGE), a banned political party opposing the long-dominant

Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea The Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea ( es, Partido Democrático de Guinea Ecuatorial, abbreviated PDGE) is the ruling political party in Equatorial Guinea. It was established by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on 11 October 1987. ...

. In late March 2008, he was arrested without a warrant. Within a week, fellow PPGE activists Cruz Obiang Ebele, Emiliano Esono Michá,

Juan Ecomo Ndong Juan Ecomo Ndong is an Equatoguinean political activist currently imprisoned on weapons possession charges. His imprisonment has drawn protest from the US State Department and Amnesty International, the latter of which considers him to be a pri ...

Gerardo Angüe Mangue Gerardo Angüe Mangue is an Equatoguinean political activist currently imprisoned on weapons possession charges. His imprisonment has drawn protest from the US State Department and Amnesty International, the latter of which considers him to be a ...

, and Bonifacio Nguema Ndong were also arrested. He was held for two months at the police station, turning which time he was allegedly tortured. In May 2008, the six men were charged with knowledge of a weapons cache in the home of another PPGE activist, Saturnino Ncogo. Ncogo had died in prison on early March in suspicious circumstances. Authorities alleged he had thrown himself from the top bunk of his cell to commit suicide, but relatives received his body in an advanced state of decomposition, and no investigation was ever conducted. According to Amnesty International, the six men were given an unfair trial at which no evidence was presented save the weapons from Ncogo's home and the statements the six had made under duress; in addition, the six defendants alleged that police had altered their statements after the defendants had signed them. Despite being charged with unrelated crimes, the six were tried alongside

Simon Mann Simon Francis Mann (born 26 June 1952) is a British mercenary and former officer in the SAS. He trained to be an officer at Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Scots Guards. He later became a member of the SAS. On leaving the military, h ...

, a UK national who had helped to organize a 2004 coup attempt. The six PPGE members were given sentences of one to five years apiece. The US State Department considers Ramírez Faustino a

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

, and has objected to his continued imprisonment. Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience, and has called for his immediate release.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramírez Faustino, Gumersindo Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Equatorial Guinea Equatoguinean activists Equatoguinean prisoners and detainees Living people Year of birth missing (living people)