Members of Equatorial Guinea's main opposition party have not been released from prison despite President Teodoro Obiang Nguema announcing a total amnesty, AFP news agency reports quoting the main opposition leader.

Gabriel Nse Obiang, head of the banned Citizens for Innovation (CI), said:

The law is not enforced in Equatorial Guinea. The government does not respect it. The president decreed a total amnesty on July 4, but people are still in prison."

The amnesty was supposed to precede a national dialogue aimed at resolving political differences.

The government banned CI in February and then 21 members were jailed for sedition.

CI also alleges that its supporters have been tortured.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who came to power in 1979, is Africa's longest serving leader.

His rule has been criticised for widespread human rights abuses.