A detention of South Africans Frederik Potgieter and Peter Huxham in Equatorial Guinea is arbitrary and unlawful, according to a formal opinion issued by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
An executive summary of the formal opinion detailed that the men were deprived of their liberty and their continued arrest was in violation of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The pair have been detained for more than 500 days after being arrested while working for a Dutch company on an oil rig off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, on charges of alleged drug trafficking.
The summary noted that “the (Equatorial Guinea) government has not justified the length of time elapsed between the arrest of Huxham and Potgieter and their appearance before a judge; and the Government had not demonstrated that alternatives to their detention had been considered”.
“The Working Group concludes that the deprivation of liberty of Huxham and Potgieter is vitiated by multiple breaches of international standards relating to the right to a fair trial, established by Articles 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Articles 14 and 15 of the Covenant. These violations are so serious as to render their deprivation of liberty arbitrary.”
The Working Group said “taking into account all the circumstances of the case, the appropriate measure would be to release Huxham and Potgieter immediately and to grant them the right to obtain reparation, including compensation”.
The detained men’s families said they were arrested on fabricated drug charges and believed this was done in retaliation to South African courts having seized the luxury properties and super-yacht of Equatorial Guinea officials.
Francois Nigrini and Shaun Murphy, spokespersons for the Huxham and Potgieter families, said: “We have also known that their arrests and detention are illegal, and so feel deeply vindicated by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s declaration.
“There should never be a time when one country condones the unlawful action taken against citizens of another country, and we will be leaning firmly on both South Africa and the UK to take firm, decisive and immediate action to release the men.
Frik and Peter’s unlawful and illegal arrest in that country shows that there is scant regard for human rights and the rule of law. They ... have suffered great hardship for almost 17 months as a consequence.”
Enquiries to the Equatorial Guinea Embassy were not answered by deadline.
Cape Times