Nine days after his arrest, the fate of Marc Ona Essangui, champion of human and environmental rights in Gabon and president of Greengrants’ grantee Brainforest, remains uncertain.
Arrested, initially without charge, by Gabonese officials last week, Marc Ona, along with four other members of civil society, were charged Wednesday with “outrage”, or public insult, against Gabon’s President Omar Bongo, allegedly in connection with an open letter criticizing President Bongo’s financial management of public funds.
Several international organizations, including International Rivers and Friends of the Earth—both Global Advisors to Greengrants—have condemned the arrest and are calling for the activists’ release. The men are being held without access to legal representation and in “very poor conditions,” according to family members. Greengrants joins with other international organizations in calling for the immediate release of these civil society leaders whose only crime is “advocating for good governance and financial transparency.”
Brainforest, an NGO based in Libreville, Gabon, seeks to promote sustainable and equitable management of the country’s natural resources. Greengrants supported Brainforest last year in the organization’s efforts to assess the socio-economic impacts of a proposed large-scale hydroelectric project in Gabon. The results of the study will be used in an international campaign to ensure that adequate impact assessments, mitigation, and compensation measures are put into place. Marc Ona also works to ensure transparency in the oil, gas, and mining industries in his capacity as coordinator of the Publish What You Pay Coalition and involvement in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Unfortunately, Marc Ona’s arrest, the latest in a campaign of harassment directed at him, illustrates the kinds of hurdles many of our grantees face in their fight for social and environmental justice. As Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) Director Simon Counsell says, “Ona has worked tirelessly for the protection of Gabon’s environment and the people whose lives depend on it… [and] is one of the few people in Gabon who is prepared to speak out when he sees an injustice.” For more information click here.
Please check back in the coming weeks; we will keep you informed on the status of these arrests.
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Update: On January 12th, Marc Ona and the other Gabonese activists were released on bail. However, the charges against them have not been dropped. International organizations continue to call for these charges to be lifted unconditionally.