Mercenary occupation of Iraq and the consequences of the mercenary soldier sponsorship case against Mark Thatcher for the "possible funding and logistical assistance in relation to an alleged attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea" organized by Simon Mann. In the United Kingdom, the Foreign Enlistment Act 1819 and the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 makes it unlawful for British subjects to join the armed forces of any state warring with another state at peace with Britain. In the Greek War of Independence, British volunteers fought with the Greek rebels, which could have been unlawful; it was unclear whether or not the Greek rebels
Corruption in Equatorial Guinea country is small, and any institution, such as a church, "that the government perceives as sufficiently powerful is immediately co-opted" or "completely undermined." Also, there are no labor unions, and any meeting of over five people requires a government permit. When the African Football Confederation (CAF) awarded Equatorial Guinea the rights to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament (AFCON), Alicante protested. "At a moment when Equatorial Guinea desperately needs to move from dictatorship to democracy and at a moment when we in Equatorial Guinea and beyond should be concerned with political and economic reforms that would transform the