Friday, February fourteenth, the UN says at least 22 people have been killed in a village in the Northwest region of Cameroon. Over half of those killed were children. No one has claimed responsibility for Friday’s incident but the opposition parties blame the killing on the government.
(rfi) Cameroon: Additional suspects added in terrorism case against Anglophone activists
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The state prosecutor in Cameroon
asked a military tribunal in Yaoundé on Thursday to add a number of extra
people to a terrorism case involving three Anglophone activists, a lawyer has
told RFI. Human rights lawyer Felix Agbor Balla, university lecturer Fontem
Neba and radio host Mancho Bibixy have pleaded not guilty to terrorism. They
were involved in organising protests in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions over
perceived marginalisation by the Francophone government.
The prosecutor requested that the
court add “about 25 people” to the case against the three activists, according
to lawyer Evaristus Morfaw. The so-called Joinder of Parties process involves
adding extra defendants to a case after a complaint has been filed.
“The defence counsel objected to
it - the parties were not the same, the dates of commission of the offences
were not the same - some of these people were arrested when the others were
already charged and arraigned before the court and they took their plea,” said
Morfaw. “It would be wrong to join them with people who have been brought to
court afresh.”
The three had already appeared in
court on 13 February and the case was adjourned. A hearing about the joinder
process will be held on 7 April with the main case starting on 27 April,
according to Morfaw, who represents both Agbor Balla and Bibixy.
“Cases for which there can be
joinder are limited,” said Morfaw, saying that in his opinion the conditions
for a joinder process have not been met in this case. “These other cases are
very different from the case that was already pending in court.”
The prosecutor has not presented
any evidence or witnesses in the case against the three activists, according to
the lawyer. Neither has evidence or witnesses been brought before the court in
the case against the additional defendants.
“They want people to forget about
the atrocities and think of some other thing so that the vigour should be
watered down and frustrate the defence counsel,” said Morfaw. “The charges look
alike, but as to the evidence, we don't have an iota of evidence against any of
them,” he added.
The three accused had previously
been involved in calling for protests in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. Agbor
Balla and Neba played a role in organising so-called ‘Ghost town’ protests
which brought English-speaking cities such as Bamenda and Buea to a standstill.
Mancho was also involved in demonstrations notably carrying a coffin during a
march.
Anglophone activists are angry
about a perceived lack of education provision for the English language and
non-recognition of the Anglophone legal system.
Cameroon was divided up into
French and British administrative zones as laid out in the 1919 London
Declaration. The British zone represented some 20 per cent of the country
before Cameroon became a country, comprising both the British and French zones,
gaining independence in 1961.
By Daniel Finnan - rfi
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