Pope Leo XIV has criticised prison conditions during a tightly controlled visit to Equatorial Guinea, urging greater respect for human dignity in the authoritarian state.
VATICAN: Pope Leo XIV made a rare public critique of prison conditions during a visit to Equatorial Guinea.
The pontiff’s remarks came on a tightly controlled tour of the oil-rich nation, one of Africa’s most closed-off countries.
He visited the notorious Bata prison where inmates greeted him in driving rain. Dressed in orange or khaki uniforms, the detainees chanted “libertad” or freedom after the meeting.
“The administration of justice aims to protect society,” the 70-year-old pope told around 600 detainees. “To be effective, however, it must always promote the dignity of every person.”
His comments, though diplomatic, represent an unusual open criticism in a nation accused of stifling free expression. A 2023 US State Department report documented torture, extreme overcrowding and deplorable sanitary conditions in its jails.
The pope later addressed thousands at a packed stadium in Bata. He stressed the importance of “respect for the rights of every citizen, every family, every social group”.
He also called for “greater room for freedom” during a mass in Mongomo with President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in attendance. Obiang, 83, is the world’s longest-serving non-royal head of state and has ruled since 1979.
“My thoughts go to the poorest, to families experiencing difficulty and to prisoners who are often forced to live in troubling hygienic and sanitary conditions,” the pontiff said.
Amnesty International in 2021 called detainees in the country “forgotten people”. The rights group said they are often jailed after flawed trials and their families do not know if they are alive.
One local teacher, Mr Ondo, questioned if the visit would change anything. He denounced a “lack of independence” in the justice system and corrupt judges.
The pope arrived in Equatorial Guinea after stops in Algeria, Cameroon and Angola. He urged the country to place itself “in the service of law and justice” in a pointed speech.
His tone was more measured than on earlier tour stops where he lambasted “tyrants” and condemned exploitation by the rich. The tour is his first major trip since clashing with former US President Donald Trump over Middle East policy.
Eighty percent of the country’s two million people are Catholic, a legacy of Spanish colonisation. Fossil fuels account for 46% of the economy and over 90% of exports.
Human Rights Watch says vast oil revenues fund a small elite while much of the population lives in poverty. The pope will conclude his 11-day African tour with a mass in the capital Malabo before returning to Rome.
