Cameroon

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has called for an independent investigation into the circumstances of the death of a detained journalist in Cameroon. "It is suspected that the political prisoner died of torture. If this is not refuted, his death in custody will fuel the civil war. If the journalist died under the influence of violence, those who are responsible must be held accountable," stated Ulrich Delius, the STP's Director, in Göttingen on Saturday. The TV presenter Samuel Wazizi had been arrested in a civil war region on August 2, 2019, based on accusations of supporting Anglophone independence movements. Yesterday, an army spokesman had to admit that he died in custody. The news of his death had caused an uproar in Cameroon.

A government spokesman claimed that Wazizi had died a natural death due to blood poisoning, but the official statement seems implausible: Allegedly, his family members were informed about his death in a timely manner – but his relatives and his lawyer deny to have been contacted by the authorities. For months, his lawyer Emmanuel Nkea had tried to get permission to visit him in custody – but in vain. The authorities had not reacted to his requests and had not provided him with any details about his client's whereabouts. Torture is commonplace in Cameroon's prisons, even though the country has ratified the Convention against Torture.

The journalist, who worked for a private television station, was not heard in court after his arrest. "Wazizi died because he had publicly criticized the way the security forces were handling the situation in the civil war regions," Delius emphasized. Further, Delius stated that the authorities had planned to accuse him of supporting terrorism, although he had only done his job as a journalist. Several journalist organizations in Cameroon are now calling for an independent investigation into his death. 

The civil war in the Anglophone regions in the southwest of the country has been going on for almost three years. About 3,000 people have already fallen victim to the violence, and about 700,000 are on the run. If Wazizi died under the influence of violence, the government will lose even more credibility and the conflict will escalate even more, the STP warned.