10, December 2020
Yaoundé: Harsh repression of opposition and dissenting voices shows no sign of relenting 0
The arrests, arbitrary detentions and prosecutions in military courts of opposition members who were peacefully gathering are the latest example of Cameroonian authorities’ crackdown on dissenting voices since late September, Amnesty International said today.
At least 500 people were arrested on 22 September, the majority of them members of the opposition Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon (MRC). Of those, 160 remain in detention, 13 have been sentenced to prison by civilian courts, and 14 appeared before a military court.
“The harsh repression of opposition and dissenting voices shows no sign of relenting in recent months. People simply exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and demonstration have paid a high price with prison terms based on trumped-up charges,” said Fabien Offner, Amnesty International West and Central Africa researcher.
“The authorities must immediately put an end to the mass arbitrary arrests and detentions and immediately release prisoners of conscience.”
Protests were scheduled on 22 September by the MRC in several towns, but they were banned by the authorities which waged a campaign of arrests and arbitrary detentions of MRC supporters.
According to the lawyers, at least 160 arrested people remain in detention as of 25 November, in the towns of Douala, Yaoundé, Bafoussam and Nkongsamba. The lawyers have filed applications for their release 45 times but were rejected each time.
Eight people have been sentenced to two years in prison on 17 November by the court of first instance of the town of Mfou (Center) which found them guilty for « gathering, assembly and public demonstrations, and rebellion in group”.
Five other people have been sentenced on 6 November to four months in prison in the town of Nkongsamba (West) for attempt of public demonstration.
Use of military courts
Fourteen people arrested on 22 September were prosecuted by the military court in Bafoussam (West) between 24 and 25 November, for “attempted insurgency and unauthorized public demonstration and gathering “.
One of the defendants was also prosecuted for “contempt to the President of the Republic” and for holding “two signs calling for the departure of President Biya’’.
At least 45 other MRC members also arrested on 22 September were convicted of “attempted revolt”, “rebellion”, “aggravated assembly” and “lack of national identity card’’ by the Yaoundé military court, which placed them in pre-trial detention. Those imprisoned include Olivier Bibou Nissack, Maurice Kamto’s spokesman, and Alain Fogue Tedom, national treasurer of the MRC.
In Yaoundé, Awasum Mispa Fri, president of MRC women’s group was arrested on 21 November and charged by a military court with “complicity in revolution and rebellion” after demanding the end of Maurice Kamto’s house arrest along with dozens of other women. She was put in pre-trial detention. Kamto’s house arrest took effect on 22 September and was lifted on 8 December.
In a separate incident, four members of the movement, Stand Up for Cameroon, very active in the anglophone regions, were arrested on 18 September by the gendarmerie in Douala after attending a meeting at the headquarters of the opposition Cameroon People’s Party. They are still in pre-trial detention after being brought before the Douala Bonanjo military court, which charged them with “attempted conspiracy, revolution and insurrection”.
“Military courts should in no way be competent to try civilians as reminded in the guidelines and principles on the right to a fair trial of the African Commission on Human and People’s’ rights,” said Fabien Offner.
MRC member arrested in September in Douala
Amnesty International spoke to a MRC member arrested in September in Douala, who said he was subjected to torture or other ill-treatment during his interrogation, which took place without the presence of a lawyer at the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) located at the port of the town. He was then detained incommunicado for two months and five days in another site, without being brought before a judge.
Released earlier this month, he told the organisation he had gone to the DST after receiving a police summons. After he refused their demand to unlock his phone, a police officer handcuffed him and tied his arms to his feet:
“He asked me if I am a MRC member (… ) if I voted in the last election… if I took part to the protests… Then told me I was stirring up rebellion. Again, he told me to unlock my phone, I refused, and he slapped and punched me at the face….,” he said.
“Later policemen handcuffed my hands behind my back. I got into the back of a pickup, and was taken to another area, still handcuffed like a bandit. I was searched, they took down all my identification documents, and put me in a windowless room, with mosquitoes, and no drinkable water. This is where I spent over two months…. “
“Acts of torture or other suffering inflicted by DST agents on those arrested should be impartially and independently investigated and those responsible prosecuted and punished,” said Fabien Offner.
Culled from Amnesty International



















10, December 2020
Bahamas: Southern Cameroonian refugees being detained for long periods 0
IMMIGRATION Minister Elsworth Johnson said yesterday he is not aware of any abuses happening at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre despite claims that several asylum seekers are being deprived of certain rights in contravention of Bahamian law.
However, he noted that if such injustices are being done, those workers responsible will be dealt with accordingly.
His comments to the press came after Human Rights Bahamas over the weekend raised alarm about the alleged illegal detainment of several Cameroonians at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.
According to the activists, the group sought to take refuge in the Bahamas after fleeing war-torn Cameroon in Central Africa out of fear of their lives after having experienced many injustices there.
Rights Bahamas claimed the Cameroonians have been detained at the Detention Centre for long periods of time that contravene the laws of this country.
When asked to respond to the claims outside Cabinet yesterday, Mr Johnson said he could not directly address the matter, but noted there’s a process every applicant must go through in order to obtain refugee status.
He said: “I can’t speak directly to it but there’s a process that persons go through that’s internationally accepted and we’re going to go through that process and if those individuals prove to be entitled to asylum, we will see how best we could assist.
“But, it’s not always that the country where they claim asylum would sometimes give it. You look to see your capacity, or you can refer to the United Nations to see how best they can assist in these matters.
“So, we’re investigating it but as always, it’s the department’s intention and obligation to follow the law to ensure the rule of law is upheld and the dignity of everybody who finds themselves in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas is protected and so we’re doing that.”
Mr Johnson also defended the integrity of the Immigration Department yesterday, noting that the agency has faced false accusations of abuse in the past.
“Anybody that is held and anyone that is taken in the protected custody of any agency in the Bahamas, we have a constitutional duty to protect those persons, to ensure equality before the law and to see that their rights are protected. That is what the government is obligated to do and we’re going to ensure that that happens,” he insisted to reporters.
“But what I want y’all to do sometimes is you know there were some booklets that were put out with immigration officers with firearms, attack dogs, people being beaten which I’ve said in the past are ridiculous and dishonest.”
He added: “And when I question persons as to why they would publish such lies, they indicated they were doing it for sensationalism and that’s not right. You know I took one of your colleagues, she’s not here, into the Detention Centre and allowed her to go in almost every section.”
“I took her down in the back to let her see and inspect and it was my belief that she found just what the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights had said in 2019 when it commended the Bahamas for the improvement at the centre was just that.
“We have one of the best eateries that provide food for detainees and they do it very well. There’s food that the detainees eat, the immigration officers eat and I eat from the establishment so there’s no difficulties there and so we’re trying our best as a small country in the conscience of COVID-19 to do what is right and what is acceptable by the law. “
Asked whether any abuses were being done at the centre, he replied: “Not that I know of and if abuses occur, they will be dealt with. They will be dealt with and you can see from what we’ve been doing obviously led by the director and his team where we find there are abuses by the law, persons go before the courts and we have sat with IOM and many number of human rights entities to ensure that what we’re doing meets not just first with our constitutional mandate but our international treaties that we signed onto.”
Rights Bahamas has threatened to take legal action against the government over the asylum seekers’ treatment.
Source: Tribune 242.com