'Mock crucifixion torture used to kill prisoners'

Two political prisoners who escaped from Equatorial Guinea said its ruler ordered a re-enactment of the Way of the Cross, a crucifixion and a mock Mass as a way of torturing and killing dissidents. The report of the two men, who asked not to be named, has been published by Amnesty International.
It said the anti-church government of President Francisco Macias Nguema ordered the torture of political prisoners at the main prison in Hata, and that 12 died. "Two men were forced to re-enact the crucifixion of Christ First they participated in a savage 'Vea ol
the Cross' with other prisoners. Then they were crucified, and their fellow prisoners were forced to celebrate a mock Mass over the dying men," the report said.
The two escapees added that Macias. who after a nine-year rule proclaimed himself president-for-life, has made Guinea "a huge torture centre in which the only way out is to the cemetery."
Previous reports said the ruler has driven religion underground by a relentless persecution. The bishops were expelled, as well as the Spanish missionaries. churches were turned into army barracks or warehouses. schools and seminaries closed and religious sei ■IL es banned. Some refugee sources in neighbouring Gabon said a priest can be executed for saying Mass, and those attending it can be harshly punished. There have also been reports that Macias has ordered that his name be praised in the text of the Mass.
The two political prisoners who escaped from the Bata prison described conditions there as overcrowded, with long hours of forced labour, and no food except that provided by relatives. They also described other methods of torture, including injections, burning, rape and hanging from wires. They said a few prisoners were burned alive at the whim of the guards.