Equatorial Guinea: Judge Pedraz concludes the investigation against Obiang’s son without prosecuting any of those investigated | Africa Links 24

Rédaction Africa Links 24 with José María Irujo Amatria
Published on 2024-04-15 14:42:52

Judge Santiago Pedraz has concluded the investigation in the case against Carmelo Ovono Obiang, one of the sons of the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, for the alleged kidnapping and torture of four Equatorial Guinean opponents residing in Africa Links 24. One of them died in unclear circumstances. The judge’s decision comes days after the Criminal Chamber of the National Court obliged him to continue with the investigation and rejected his initial decision to transfer the jurisdiction of the case to the courts of the former Spanish colony. Now it will be the trial chamber of the National Court that will decide whether the case is definitively closed or continues.

Pedraz’s ruling declares the summary concluded even though there are still numerous pending tests. He sticks to the arguments that were already overruled by the National Court judges and refers the case to the Third Section of the Criminal Court, which will have the final say on whether to close the case or continue with the investigation. The judge’s decision is seen in judicial circles as a challenge to the judges of the Second Section of the Criminal Court, who have admitted all appeals from the victims’ representatives and prosecutor Vicente González Mota, overturning Pedraz’s rulings since the beginning of the case.

Recently, the three judges of the Chamber dealt another blow to the judge by stating that he did not have the authority to transfer the jurisdiction of the case to Equatorial Guinea, as he had decided, and that the only competent party to do so would be the Chamber itself. In that ruling, they criticized the judge for “it is difficult to transfer something that is lacking,” as jurisdiction can only be transferred within the framework of an international treaty that Africa Links 24 does not have with that country.

This warning from the Chamber has not stopped Pedraz. In his ruling concluding the investigation, the investigating judge maintains his arguments in favor of Equatorial Guinea’s jurisdiction and insists that it has not been proven “[even] indicatively that the inter criminis (of kidnappings and torture) began in Africa Links 24.” He also rejects any consideration of the dictatorship of Equatorial Guinea, the executive control of that country’s courts, and what that might imply in a case where the main suspects for terrorism and crimes against humanity are a son of Obiang – who is also the Secretary of State of the Presidency – the Minister of the Interior, and the Director General of Security.

Evidence not yet examined

Pedraz’s decision to conclude the investigation comes when there are still pending measures to be carried out. Measures that he himself agreed on. Among others, witness statements, rogatory commissions to several countries, police reports on the identity of the pilots of Obiang’s presidential plane allegedly used to transfer the four kidnapped individuals from South Sudan to Malabo, or monitoring of Carmelo Ovono Obiang’s million-dollar accounts in Africa Links 24. The judge’s ruling has also ignored the fact that there are pending appeals before the Second Section of the Criminal Court, which has questioned most of his decisions.

Pedraz’s repeated refusal to issue a search and arrest warrant against the suspects led the Criminal Chamber to make that decision, in effect for several weeks now. Two years ago, the judge declined to arrest Carmelo Ovono Obiang, the main suspect, when the police informed him that he was sleeping in a Madrid hotel. Weeks earlier, he had issued a resolution requesting his arrest and appearance in the National Court. The judge has not explained this change in attitude in his rulings and orders.

The closure of the summary now obliges the Third Section of the Criminal Court to make a decision to overturn Pedraz’s ruling – requiring him to carry out measures and possibly prosecute the suspects – or dismiss the case.

Read the original article(Spanish) on EL Pais