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URGENT ACTION: Support Civil Disobedience by Prisoners of Conscience at Cameroon’s Notorious High-Security Prison

March 26, 2018 — This morning, teacher-activist Penn Terence Kahn and other activists held at the notorious high-security Kondengui Central Prison in Yaounde, Cameroon delivered a signed letter declaring that they will no longer cooperate with the travesty of justice that they are being subject to by the Yaounde Military Tribunal. The letter was given to the Prosecuting Officer; a snapshot of it is below. As the prisoners write, they are taking on significant risk with this action. Now more than ever we need the Cameroonian regime to know that the world is watching!

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Minister of Justice Laurent Esso
Ministry of Justice
BP 466, Yaoundé
Cameroun

Dear Minister Esso,

I am concerned about reports of ongoing military trials of civilians detained at the Kondengui high-security prison, including teacher and law student Penn Terence Khan, which has forced the prisoners to resort to civil disobedience to call attention to their plight in the wake of hash sentencing of their mates. Please act immediately to ensure the suspension of sentencing procedures for Penn Terrence Khan and the other prisoners in his situation, and request that arrangements be made for them to get a proper trials in a civilian court with full access to legal representation of their choice. In the meantime release them on bail until the start of these civilian trials.

Penn Terrence, like many of the other prisoners, was arrested without a warrant, tortured and held in solitary confinement in the wake of the 2016 general strikes to protect the rights of common law legal works. He has been denied sufficient legal representation, and is now facing sentencing in the Yaounde Military Tribunal.

The UN Draft Principles Governing the Administration of Justice Through Military Tribunals (U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/2006/58) expressly state that military tribunals lack the authority to try civilians, and that military trial of civilians violates rights that cannot be legally suspended, like the right to a fair trial by a competent, independent and impartial court, per their guarantee in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  and the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

I urge you to use the authority of your office to stop this practice in Cameroon of trying civilians in military tribunal.

While looking forward to hearing from you, please accept our sincerest regards,
Supporter of Kondengui Prisoners of Conscience

cc: 

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 
UNHCR Amnesty International Secretariat
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
African Union Chairperson Paul Kagame
Heather Nauert, Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, United States Department of State
Congressman 	Lee Zeldin, United States House of Representatives
Secretariat of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 
Amnesty International West & Central African desk

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URGENT ACTION: Support Civil Disobedience by Prisoners of Conscience at Cameroon’s Notorious High-Security Prison