Foreign Minister meets with family members and lawyers of two Spaniards detained in Equatorial Guinea

Eduardo González Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares met this Wednesday in Madrid with family members and lawyers of Javier Marañón Montero and David Rodríguez Ballesta, the two Spanish citizens imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea since January 2025, according to sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who provided no further details. Javier Marañón Montero and David Rodríguez Ballesta were arrested in Equatorial Guinea in January 2025 on charges of bribery and fraud, as part of an investigation opened by the Attorney General's Office into the alleged payment of illegal commissions to secure a public contract for the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) project. According to opposition sources, Francisca Obiang Jiménez, daughter of President Teodoro Obiang, may be implicated in this network of illegal commissions involving Spanish businesspeople, high-ranking regime officials, and several shell companies. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, staff from the Spanish Embassy in Malabo have visited Javier Marañón Montero and David Rodríguez Ballesta on numerous occasions, “have been closely monitoring the case since becoming aware of it” on January 22, 2025, and are maintaining “numerous contacts with local authorities” to provide the two Spaniards “with proper consular assistance.” [caption id="attachment_127620" align="alignnone" width="750"] Javier Marañón Montero and David Rodríguez Ballesta[/caption] In April 2025, after Guinean authorities installed hidden microphones in one of the prison's visiting rooms to eavesdrop on conversations between the two prisoners and Spanish diplomats, the Attorney General, Anatolio Nzang Nguema, held a press conference to demand that the Spanish Embassy in Malabo “respect judicial independence.” Following their arrest, the Vice President of the Republic and head of the security apparatus (and Obiang's eldest son), Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, ordered the complete isolation of both businessmen and prohibited them from any visits, not even from their lawyers or family members. On October 9, 2025, the European Parliament denounced the “arbitrary detention” of Marañón and Rodríguez Ballesta, as well as “the unacceptable conditions of detention and the ill-treatment inflicted on prisoners” in this country, and recalled that both had been transferred the previous April to Black Beach prison, “known for its inhumane conditions and systematic human rights violations.” On December 11, Equatorial Guinea's ambassador to the UN, Anatolio Ndong Mba, assured the Security Council (in response to the Secretary-General's latest report on the situation in Central Africa) that the two Spaniards are accused of "corruption, fraud, embezzlement of public funds, and money laundering" and that "the defendants are being treated with dignity and humanity, enjoy regular consular visits, and remain in pretrial detention by court order to prevent flight, with the presumption of innocence guaranteed until a final judgment." Petition to the Government On March 25, Laura Marañón, Javier Marañón's sister, submitted more than 45,000 signatures to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting that the Spanish government "intervene urgently and directly for the release of the two, who have been held for more than 14 months in Black Beach prison," according to Change.org, the US-based civic organization that collects signatures and publishes online petitions. [caption id="attachment_140310" align="alignnone" width="750"] Laura Marañón. / Photo: Change.org[/caption] “They are innocent workers paying for the actions of others,” denounced Laura Marañón. “David and my brother Javier could die if action isn't taken soon. We don't want condolences; we want them released from there immediately,” she warned. “They have been unjustly detained since January 2025. They can't see doctors, they can't speak with their lawyers, and they can't be visited by their families,” she asserted. “Stop turning your back on these Spanish workers,” the petition adds. “The government's inaction could cost them their lives; we need them to act now,” it insists. “It is urgent that the Spanish government act. Two innocent Spanish citizens, with no charges against them, cannot be allowed to remain in inhumane conditions with their lives in danger,” the text warns. That same day, family and friends of David and Javier gathered at the entrance to the Congress of Deputies. “We’ve been waiting for over a year for help that never comes,” denounced Aarón, another brother of Javier Marañón. “We’ve come to Congress because we no longer want mediation from the Embassy; we want the Government to act directly, and we hope that members of parliament from the other parties will come out in support of us,” he warned.

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