Cameroon

Republic of Cameroon: make human rights a reality

Published by on January 24, 2013

Amnesty International 24 January 2013 For several decades, Amnesty International has been gathering information about allegations of human rights violations carried out, ordered or condoned by Cameroonian government and security officials. This report documents abuses such as the restriction of freedoms of expression and association; persecution of people accused of same-sex relationships; harassment of members of the Southern Cameroons National Council; deplorable conditions of detention; and, abuses against women and girls. It highlights cases of possible prisoners of conscience and, finally, gives an overview of the issue of the death penalty. Download the report here.

Cameroon: city panicked by wave of suspected ritual killings

Published by on January 22, 2013

Tapang Ivo Tanku, Special for CNN 22 January 2013 Michele Mbala Mvogo, a 17-year-old high school student, left home to go to school one morning, and she never came back. On Friday, police found Michele’s corpse with four other bodies dumped outside a kindergarten school. Fighting back tears, Deborah Ngoh Tonye described what was left of her sister’s gruesome corpse. Someone had removed Michele’s genitals, tongue, eyes, hair, and breasts. Michele’s bizarre murder is believed to be part of a wave of killings linked to occult rituals that has triggered panic in Yaounde, the capital city of more than 2 Read the full article…

Cameroon jails ‘gay’ man for texting ‘I’m in love with you’ to male friend

Published by on December 17, 2012

Associated Press via The Guardian 17 December 2012 Jean-Claude Roger Mbédé’s three-year prison term upheld by appeals court in Africa’s most repressive state for homosexuals An appeals court in Cameroon has upheld a three-year sentence against a man found guilty of homosexual conduct for sending a text message to another man saying: “I’m very much in love with you.” Activists said the court’s ruling on Monday in Yaoundé, the capital, marked yet another setback for gays and lesbians in the west African country, widely viewed as the most repressive country in the continent when it comes to prosecuting same-sex couples. Read the full article…

Cameroon: UN concerned over reports of arrests of suspected gay and lesbian people

Published by on November 16, 2012

Refworld 16th November 2012 The United Nations human rights office today expressed its concern over reports of people in Cameroon being harassed, intimidated, arrested and imprisoned because they were suspected of being lesbian or gay – and called for an end to such practices. Article 347 of the current penal code in the country criminalizes ‘sexual relations with a person of the same sex’ and provides for a penalty of up to five years imprisonment and a fine, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Addressing a news conference in Geneva today, an OHCHR spokesperson, Rupert Read the full article…

Cameroon: 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Published by on May 24, 2012

RefWorld United States Department of State 24th May 2012   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Cameroon is a republic dominated by a strong presidency. The country has a multiparty system of government, but the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) has remained in power since it was created in 1985. It has unfettered control of all government branches. The president retains the power to control legislation and rule by decree. On October 9, CPDM leader Paul Biya won reelection as president, a position he has held since 1982. The election was flawed by irregularities, including the failure to properly distribute all voter cards, late Read the full article…

Cameroon: Amnesty International annual report 2012

Published by on May 24, 2012

Amnesty International Annual Report 2012 Published 24 May 2012 The government continued to restrict the activities of political opponents and journalists. People suspected of same-sex relations were detained and some sentenced to lengthy prison terms. The government reduced some prison sentences and commuted death sentences, but did not reveal how many. Background President Biya was re-elected with 75 per cent of the vote following presidential elections on 9 October. Of the 22 opposition presidential candidates, his closest rival, John Fru Ndi of the Social Democratic Front, won just over 10 per cent. Opposition political parties claimed that the election was Read the full article…

Cameroon: Amnesty urges authorities to overhaul laws criminalising gay relationships

Published by on March 5, 2012

Amnesty International 5 March 2012 Following the decision to delay today’s appeal hearing of Jean-Claude Roger Mbede, Amnesty International reiterated its call to the Cameroonian government to repeal all laws criminalising consensual same-sex relationships in the country and release all of those currently in prison for homosexuality. Jean-Claude Roger Mbede was sentenced to three years in prison for homosexuality in April 2011. The hearing of his appeal was due to take place today but he was not brought to court. The date has now been pushed back to 19 March when the appeal court is expected to decide whether to Read the full article…

Cameroon: urged to overhaul laws criminalizing gay relationships

Published by on March 5, 2012

Amnesty International March 5, 2012. Laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relationships must be repealed by the Cameroonian government, Amnesty International said as it called for the release of those currently in prison for homosexuality, “It is time to end the arrest, detention, prosecution and other forms of persecution and discrimination against people perceived or known to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender,” said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s director for Africa. Since March 2011, 13 people in Cameroon have been arrested for allegedly practising homosexuality. Most have been targeted on the grounds of their perceived sexual orientation, rather than on Read the full article…

Cameroon in ‘first’ lesbian charges

Published by on February 24, 2012

BBC News 24 February 2012 Three women in Cameroon have been charged with practising homosexuality, in what is believed to be the first such case in the country, a local reporter tells the BBC. The case, allegedly involving a lesbian love triangle, came to court on Monday, but has only been reported nationally now due to the remoteness of the area. Homosexual acts are punishable by up to five years in prison. The BBC’s Randy Joe Sa’ah says it the first known case involving women. Our reporter, based in the capital, Yaounde, says it is not that common for men Read the full article…

Cameroon: release men jailed for alleged homosexuality

Published by on November 24, 2011

Amnesty International 24 November 2011 The Cameroonian authorities must immediately release two men who have been sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Yaounde for homosexual acts, Amnesty International said today. A third man was sentenced without being present after jumping bail. The men were arrested in July after police alleged they were caught in a sexual act in a car. “The Yaounde court must overturn this shocking sentence, which punishes these three men solely on the basis of their perceived sexual orientation,” said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s director for Africa. “People accused of such Read the full article…