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 Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

in 1983 by Severo Moto. The party leadership has declared a "

government in exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile ...

" in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, with party leader Severo Moto as "President". PP members who remain in Equatorial Guinea are heavily harassed and prosecuted. In 2008, seven PPGE members were arrested in Malobo on charges of weapons possession, including Moto's former secretary Gerardo Angüe Mangue. The alleged owner of the weapons, Saturnino Ncogo, had died in prison within days of his arrest under 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. The remaining six PPGE activists—Mangue, 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 ...

, Gumersindo Ramírez Faustino, and Bonifacio Nguema Ndong—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, despite their charges being wholly unrelated. The party members were given sentences of one to five years' imprisonment apiece. Their imprisonment has been protested by 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 named the six men prisoners of conscience.

References

External links

Progress Party of Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea Government in Exile
Political parties in Equatorial Guinea Banned political parties Equatorial Guinea Christian democratic parties in Africa Political parties established in 1983 {{Africa-party-stub