NGO published a report after arrests and violence due to the sexual orientation of the targeted. Cameroonian law only criminalizes the law, but the police use it to track down homosexuals or transgender people according to the organization, which condemns this penal provision, which is contrary to the Constitution and international treaties.
For HRW Central Africa researcher Ilaria Allegrozi, who wrote this report, the situation is really problematic: “Unlike other countries, the government has never condemned crimes against LGBT people in public. I mention the example we documented in February in Bafoussam, in the western part of the country, where the police looted an organization’s office and arrested thirteen people. Accused them of homosexuality, beat them, verbally assaulted them, interrogated them without the presence of a lawyer and made them sign statements without being able to read those statements. Police also forced one of the thirteen people to undergo an HIV / AIDS test, an anal examination, which is a form of cruel, degrading treatment similar to torture. I think we can generally say that our latest report highlights a homophobic climate, which also encourages abuse, benching of LGBT people in society. ”
I Alice NKom defends many victims of this violence such as “Shakiro” and “Patricia”, two transgender people who were arrested in early February for wearing dresses and are still in prison today. She’s at the microphone Francois Mazet of the Africa service.
It reminds me of the first days of this struggle, twenty years ago, when homosexual hunting took place almost every day in Cameroon. And right now I do not know if it is due to the pandemic, I do not know if it is due to all the problems that Cameroon is experiencing today, but it will be something dramatic.
Maître Alice Nkom, Cameroonian lawyer
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