Equatorial Guinea abolishes death penalty

Equatorial Guinea has finally abolished the death penalty in the country, according to a new criminal code signed by President Teodoro Obiang eight years after the last executions took place.

With a population of about 1.4 million split between a mainland on the Central African coast and an island in the Gulf of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea various campaign groups and foreign powers have accused the Obiang government of human rights abuse amidst sham trials.

Amnesty International says the last executions there took place in the tiny, oil-producing state in 2014. Obiang had said in 2019 that he would propose a law to end capital punishment.

The new penal law, was officially published over the weekend. It will come into force 90 days after publication, the document said.

Capital punishment remains legal in just over 30 African countries, but more than 20 of those have not carried out executions for at least 10 years, according to data provider Statista.