Two South African engineers have returned house after spending greater than two years in prison in Equatorial Guinea on what the UN has referred to as “arbitrary and unlawful” medication fees.
Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, each of their mid-50s, had been arrested in February 2023 after medication had been allegedly discovered of their baggage.
They had been sentenced to twelve years in jail and fined $5m (£4m) however were given a presidential pardon after a protracted marketing campaign by means of their households and the South African govt.
Their arrest got here days after luxurious belongings belonging to Equatorial Guinea’s Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang had been seized in South Africa.
A yacht and two Cape The town villas belonging to Obiang, who could also be the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president, had been impounded in execution of a courtroom ruling.
“We’re crushed with reduction and pleasure. The closing two years and 4 months were unimaginably painful for either one of our households,” consistent with a commentary launched by means of the 2 males’s households.
They had been running for the Dutch oil and fuel corporate SBM in Equatorial Guinea once they arrested the night time ahead of they had been because of go back house after a five-week stint within the nation.
The households had referred to as for the help of the South African govt in addition to that of the United Kingdom govt, as Mr Huxham has twin nationality.
“South Africa expresses its trustworthy gratitude to the Executive of Equatorial Guinea for bearing in mind and in the long run granting this Presidential pardon, permitting Mr Huxham and Mr Potgieter to go back house to their family members,” stated a publish on X by means of South African Overseas Minister Ronald Lamola.
The United Countries Running Crew on Arbitrary Detention closing 12 months referred to as for the pair’s liberate, pronouncing their detention used to be illegal.
Their households say the pair had been arrested in retaliation for the seizure of the belongings belonging to Equatorial Guinea’s vice-president.
The BBC has contacted Equatorial Guinea for remark.
A South African reliable informed the BBC it used to be for the courts to come to a decision the destiny of the yacht and villas, and the federal government could not intrude.
