Equatorial Guinea: Death sentence after being found guilty of a ritual murder (1997).

The case reported below is – very likely – the top of the iceberg, as we call it. More than 20 years ago, at least 17 ritual murders were committed in Equatorial Guinea, in only a 3-months period, from August – October 1997. An analysis of these incidents will follow later (the murders may have coincided with elections).
We hope that these heinous crimes will have stopped after that date, but there is no indication it really was the case – reporting as such may not be a reliable indicator. For the time being we offer you this case. As soon as we have more to publish we will do (webmaster FVDK).

Published: October 6, 1997
By: Amnesty International

Matías Evung was sentenced to death on 2 October 1997 after being found guilty of a ritual murder. He was accused of removing the eyes, tongue, ears and genitals of a 10-year-old girl he had abducted. He was tried in Bata, the capital ofEquatorial Guinea’s mainland region of Río Muni.

According to official figures, at least 17 ritual murders have been committed in Equatorial Guinea since the beginning of August 1997. The government-owned radio is reported to have said that the death sentence was meant to discourage further killings.

Source: Death penalty, October 6, 1997