EG Justice, a human rights group focused on Equatorial Guinea, has pointed out the disconnect between the International Monetary Foundation’s approval of a loan in November 2019 to that country and its accompanying requirement that the government “strengthen the rule of law through an effective implementation of existing laws.” EG Justice, in coordination with Amnesty International, has extensively documented that the Obiang government is not currently doing this. One case they point to is that of Elo Ayeto, the founder of a youth activism group Somos. Arrested in February of 2019, Ayeto was exonerated of the charges against him on November 21, 2019 in a trial where the government called no witnesses or evidence, and yet he is still in detention. Even worse, EG Justice reports that he’s been placed in solitary confinement since January 2.

Because of Ayeto’s case and others like it, EG Justice asks the IMF to require Equatorial Guinea to justify its treatment of political prisoners and to show that it implements international standards of justice. Read more here.