Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Opposition leader sentenced by military court in Cameroon

Amnesty International has reported on the results of a military trial in Cameroon:
A military court in Cameroon has sentenced an opposition party leader to 25 years in prison after an unfair trial, Amnesty International said today.
Aboubakar Siddiki, President of the main opposition party in northern Cameroon, ‘Mouvement patriotique du salut camerounais’, was today convicted of charges including hostility against the homeland, revolution and contempt of the President, despite no credible evidence being presented to the court. In the same trial, Abdoulaye Harissou, a well-known notary, was also sentenced to three years prison for non-denunciation. However, the court finally dropped all charges against three journalists - Baba Wame, Felix Ebole Bola and Rodrigue Tongue –who were charged in 2014 with ‘non-denunciation’ of information and sources in relation to the same affair.
Human rights jurisprudence strongly disfavors the trial of civilians by military courts. 

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