To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the record of Equatorial Guinea in (a) according fair trials to and (b) observing the human rights of individuals held captive in Black Beach prison. (188534)

[holding answer 22 February 2008]: The Government have serious concerns over Equatorial Guinea’s human rights record.

We are aware of recent reports that express concern over the situation in Equatorial Guinea as regards individuals' right to a fair trial and the country’s observation of human rights. Such reports include the Amnesty International Report 2007 and the report of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, available at:

http://thereport.amnesty.org/document/15

http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/E3F5F640A5C8217FC125731A002D604D?opendocument

While such reporting indicates that conditions in Black Beach prison are improving, following the introduction of a new block in 2005, the overall situation remains of concern.