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Pope Leo XIV visited inmates at a prison in Equatorial Guinea’s Bata on Wednesday, delivering a message of hope amid longstanding criticism of the country’s prison conditions and justice system. The visit came on the final leg of the pope’s four-nation Africa tour, drawing attention to allegations campaigners have made for years.
In Spanish, Leo told the inmates: “You are not alone. Your families love you and are waiting for you. Many people outside these walls are praying for you,” according to remarks reported by The Associated Press. He added that “If any of you fear being abandoned by everyone, know that God will never abandon you, and that the Church will stand by your side.”
The inmates gathered in a central courtyard of the prison, with witnesses describing the setting as recently painted salmon pink. As soon as the pope began speaking, a rainstorm opened and drenched the group, according to the AP report, and the rain continued as the inmates later broke into a dance party, shouting “Libertad! Libertad! Libertad!” (“Freedom, freedom, freedom”).
During his remarks, the pope also said incarceration is not meant to be punishment alone. He told authorities and inmates that justice should protect society while promoting dignity, saying in the AP account: “To be effective, it must always promote the dignity and potential of every person,” and that “True justice seeks not so much to punish as to help rebuild the lives of victims, offenders and communities wounded by evil.”
The prison stop followed earlier events on the same tour day, when Leo began with Mass in Mongomo, an eastern city near the border with Gabon. The AP report said President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and his wife attended the Mass there, along with their son, Teodoro “Teddy” Nguema Obiang, the country’s vice president.
Equatorial Guinea has faced repeated international scrutiny of its detention system and judiciary, with United Nations reports and human rights organizations cited by the AP. The report said a 2023 U.S. report on the country listed abuses including arbitrary or unlawful killings and arrests, political detentions, torture, life-threatening prison conditions, and “serious problems” with the judiciary’s independence.
In Bata, Equatorial Guinea’s Justice Minister Reginaldo Biyogo Ndong denied the rights abuses, telling journalists that the prison and justice systems respect international human-rights laws. The AP account said he described the country’s justice system infrastructure as “enviable” and said it was “ready to guarantee human rights, fundamental rights.”
On the eve of the pope’s prison visit, an open letter urged Leo to speak out, the AP report said, particularly regarding U.S. deportations of migrants to third countries and to encourage African nations not to be complicit. The report also said that in the run-up to Leo’s arrival, the government released nearly 100 people arrested in a 2022 crackdown on street violence, according to a local lawyer who requested anonymity because of the country’s human-rights record.
After Leo left the prison courtyard in Bata, the AP report said the inmates continued dancing as the rain persisted. The visit, which placed a religious message of support inside a setting campaigners have criticized, ended his final full day in Africa as he prepared to conclude the tour.