Black Beach was overthrown in a 1979 coup d'état. Black Beach holds a number of foreign prisoners sentenced for participating in a 2004 coup d'état attempt against the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. These included Simon Mann, the alleged ringleader, until his presidential pardon on 2 November 2009 on humanitarian grounds, and more recently Ramón Esono Ebalé (released in March 2018). Black Beach Black Beach (), located on the island of Bioko, in the capital city of Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, is one of Africa's most notorious prisons. It has a reputation for systematically neglecting and brutalising inmates. Medical
2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office did investigate if there were any British companies involved in the plot after receiving confidential reports, but failed to find any evidence. British officials, and Jack Straw, were forced to apologise to "The Observer" after categorically denying they had prior knowledge of the coup plot. President Obiang accused the Spanish government of supporting the plot. The allegation could explain the coincidental position of two Spanish warships off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, at the time of the arrests of the alleged plotters. Miguel Mifuno, special adviser to Equatorial Guinea's president, accused the Spanish government