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 before the coup attempt. Mr Wales has been accused of being one of its organisers, but has denied any involvement. A US defence official told Newsweek magazine: Mr Wales mentioned in passing [...] there might be some trouble brewing in Equatorial Guinea. Specifically, he had heard from some business associates of his that wealthy citizens of the country were planning to flee in case of a crisis. Britain was given a full outline of the coup plot, including the dates, details of arms shipments and key players, months before the coup was launched. Until 9 November 2004, cabinet ministers had