Rights groups are urging Cameroon to end the detention of opposition supporters as the UN warns of restricted freedoms in the run-up to the elections.
Amnesty International on Monday demanded Cameroon immediately release 36 opposition supporters jailed in 2020 during a peaceful protest against President Paul Biya and his government.
In all, 47 activists and officials of the Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon (MRC), barred from next month’s presidential election where Biya seeks an eighth term, received jail terms of one to seven years.
Charges of rebellion and insurrection
They were found guilty of “rebellion” or “attempted insurrection” against the state.
“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.
“We are deeply disappointed that the authorities have failed to recognise the arbitrary nature of the ongoing detention of these protesters,” added Sivieude in a statement marking the fifth anniversary of the arrests.
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Fears around voters’ freedoms
At the start of this month, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) voiced concern at restrictions on Cameroon’s “civic space” as the election nears and also expressed fears about the voters’ ability to freely express their choice.
Amnesty further denounced the arrest of 54 MRC supporters for “incitement to revolt and disturbing public order” near the Constitutional Council in Yaounde in early August, during pre-election hearings which saw party leader Maurice Kamto’s candidacy rejected.
Those detainees have since been released on bail.
The election campaign is scheduled to begin Saturday.
Biya, the world’s oldest head of state at 92 and in power for nearly 43 years, will face 11 other candidates as he targets a new seven-year term on October 12.
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