
Cameroon: Authorities must release 36 protesters arbitrarily detained for five years amid crackdown on human rights
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.