Central African Republic accuses a European NGO worker arrested last week of espionage

BANGUI, Central African Republic – Authorities in the Central African Republic are investigating a European aid worker who was arrested last week in a restive part of the country on espionage charges, prosecutors said.

Martin Joseph Figueira, an adviser to the US non-governmental organization FHI360, is accused of having been in contact with armed groups to plan a coup and thus endanger national security, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.

He is also said to have incited “hatred and sedition” against the country’s military, supported subversive groups and used false documents.

Figueira has a Belgian and a Portuguese passport, the statement said. In his Belgian passport he bears the name Martin Joseph Edouard.

FHI360, a public health non-governmental organization that manages family planning and reproductive health projects, confirmed that one of its staff members is in detention in the Central African Republic.

“We are working to secure the immediate release of our adviser,” NGO spokeswoman Jennifer Garcia told the Associated Press.

Figueira was arrested last week in Zemio, a town in southeastern Central African Republic where fighting has been going on for over a decade between local ethnic militias and anti-government rebels.

“He was caught red-handed,” claimed a special adviser to the president, Fidèle Gouandjika, without giving further details.

Authorities have warned employees of foreign non-governmental organizations not to participate in activities that could endanger national security, otherwise they could face legal action.

On Saturday, the military was deployed to Zemio after more than six years of absence from the city. The Russian mercenary group Wagner, which has had a strong presence in the Central African Republic for years, was also deployed there to train local militias and recruit them for the army.

The mercenaries also guard the country’s gold and diamond mines, have helped keep armed rebel groups at bay and keep President Faustin-Archange Touadera, in power since 2016, in office. Wagner’s fighters are accused by human rights groups and civilians of committing human rights abuses and exploiting the country’s resources.

The Central African Republic has been in conflict since 2013, when predominantly Muslim rebels seized power and ousted then-President François Bozizé. Mainly Christian militias fought back. A 2019 peace agreement helped slow the fighting, but six of the 14 armed groups that signed the agreement later withdrew.

A UN peacekeeping mission and Rwandan troops are currently deployed in the Central African Republic to contain the violence and protect civilians.

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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.