Amnesty International on May 14 condemned the life sentence handed down by a military court in Cameroon against activist Abdu Karim Ali, calling it an "affront to justice" and demanding his immediate and unconditional release. According to Amnesty, Ali was arrested without a warrant in 2022 and arbitrarily detained after he produced a video exposing torture carried out by the leader of a pro-government militia in Cameroon's conflicted Southwest Region. Last month, a military court in Yaoundé, the capital, sentenced him to life imprisonment for "hostility against the homeland" and "secession."

Amnesty emphasized that Ali had to wait three years before receiving his sentence, which it considered an "extreme punishment" for merely exercising his right to free speech. The rights group also criticized the military trial given the activist, stating that it violated both Cameroonian laws and international human rights law. Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) prohibits the trial of civilians before military courts. Article 19 of the covenant protects the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart information by any means.

Ali had advocated for a Swiss-led mediation process to resolve the armed conflict in Cameroon, and directed the Peace Research Centre in Bamenda, capital of the Northwest Region. He was arrested in August 2022 and was subsequently detained for 84 days at a military police station, where he was interrogated about the video documenting the torture of civilians by a local militia chief.

Cameroon's Southwest and Northwest regions have been experiencing an armed conflict since 2016 in what is known as the Anglophone crisis. This conflict began with protests in the English-speaking regions against the appointment of French-speaking judges and teachers in those areas. The demonstrations escalated into an armed conflict, as Cameroon's military confronted separatists in the Anglophone regions who sought the independence of the Southwest and Northwest as the "Federal Republic of Ambazonia." This conflict has been marked by numerous human rights violations committed by both sides, including killings, sexual violence and abductions, along with a widespread suppression of freedom of speech.

Repression has now spread to the Francophone regions of the country as well. In 2024, supporters of a youth organization in Garoua, capital of North Region, were arrested for their activities.

From JURIST, May 15. Used with permission.