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The Cameroonian authorities must immediately release 36 opposition supporters arbitrarily detained for five years for exercising their right to peaceful assembly and put an end to arbitrary detention in the country, Amnesty International said on the fifth anniversary of their arrest.
On 22 September 2020, over 500 people were arbitrarily arrested for participating in peaceful protests organized by the opposition party ‘Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon’ (MRC) in several cities across the country. Of the protesters arrested 36 remain in detention, languishing in Kondengui prison in Yaoundé after being sentenced by a military court to between five- and seven-years’ imprisonment.
“The Cameroonian authorities must immediately release these individuals, who have committed no crime other than to express their opinion,” said Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
“The authorities must address these concerns and ensure that no person is arbitrarily arrested or detained solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The authorities must also refrain from trying civilians in military courts, as it is incompatible with the right to a fair trial and therefore in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”
By the end of September, 24 of those imprisoned will have served their five-year sentences. Among them, one has suffered three strokes but has not been released on medical grounds despite their requests, according to the lawyer Hippolyte Meli Tiakouang, coordinator of a collective defending detained opposition supporters.
“Thirty-six appeals have been lodged since 2022 with the Supreme Court of Cameroon, which has not yet ruled on any of them. The delays are unreasonable. One might think that judiciary drag things out so that the sentences handed down will be carried out” said Hippolyte Meli Tiakouang.
On 4 November 2022, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention published an opinion which found that the detention of 15 of the MRC leaders and activists was arbitrary.
“We are deeply disappointed that the authorities have failed to recognize the arbitrary nature of the ongoing detention of these protesters,” said Marceau Sivieude.
Increasing wrongful arrests and detentions ahead of presidential election
A few weeks ahead of the presidential election in which President Paul Biya runs for an eighth term, restrictions on civic and democratic space are worsening, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on 2 September.
On 4 August, at least 54 MRC supporters were arrested next to the Constitutional Council in Yaoundé during pre-election dispute hearings, according to Hippolyte Meli Tiakouang. All of them are now on bail. Twenty-three are facing prosecution for allegedly inciting revolt and disturbing public order, and if convicted face several years in prison.
On 9 August, a man who posted videos calling for demonstrations against the rejection of the candidacy of MRC leader Maurice Kamto was arrested and has been held at New Bell prison in Douala on the orders of the Douala military court. According to his lawyers, he is being prosecuted for ‘publicly condoning the crime of undermining the internal security of the state’.
“These opposition supporters should never have been arrested in the first place. The fact that they were arrested points to the alarming crackdown on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in Cameroon. The charges against those who are prosecuted for exercising their human rights must be dropped,” said Marceau Sivieude.
“In recent years, anyone who dares criticize the authorities, whether a human rights defender, a journalist, a political activist or a protester, runs the risk of being arbitrarily arrested and detained, tortured or otherwise ill-treated, and tried by military courts. Unfortunately, this trend increases as the presidential election approaches. This travesty of justice must end.”
“The authorities must uphold the country’s international human rights obligations including under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Cameroon is a state party.”
President Paul Biya, 92, who has been in power in Cameroon for nearly 43 years, will face 11 other candidates in his bid for a new seven-year term on 12 October.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.