South African engineers released from Equatorial Guinea prison after two years
The two South African engineers who were locked up in an Equatorial Guinea's Mongomo Prison for two years, have finally been released.
Frederik 'Frik' Potgieter, 53, and Peter Huxham, 55, were arrested at their hotel in Malabo in Equatorial Guinea on February 9, 2023 on drug-related charges.
They were later found guilty of trafficking and illicit possession of drugs and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment each. In addition, they were ordered to pay $5 million (more than R96m) each in damages with an additional $2.5m (more than R48m) fine to be shared between them.
The men denied any wrongdoing.
Since their arrest, their families as well as the South African government had advocated for their release. Government efforts included sending Special Envoys, to secure their release on humanitarian grounds.
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