Amnesty International condemns use of excessive force on prisoners in Cameroon

Renowned global rights group, Amnesty International has condemned what it has described as the use of force by security forces to quell a riot at the Yaounde central prison Monday.In a statement issued by Amnesty International director for West and Central Africa, Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry, the organization said “authorities in Cameroon must refrain from using excessive force against prisoners and independently and effectively investigate the use of firearms and live ammunitions reported during the riot”.

The body thinks the further violence at the central prison in Yaounde and many other detention centers in Cameroon are inevitable given the overcrowded nature of the prisons.
Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry pointed out that thousand detainees are still waiting to be brought before a judge.

“Prison conditions are absolutely dire in Kondengui…authorities should work to improve the grim conditions prisoners are crammed into, release anyone detained only for exercising their rights to peaceful protest and ensure that all people detained past the legal period of pre trial detention are immediately presented to a judge or released” she said.

Contrary to cries by some opposition political party militants that security forces used excessive force and live bullets to quell the riot in the prison, the minister of communication in a release Wednesday denied the claims.

Rene Emmanuel Sadi mentioned that the military quelled the riot with all level of professionalism.
It should be recalled that the riot which broke out at the prison Monday July 22 that later degenerated to a fire incident later that night.
Some prisoners sustained severe injuries and have been taken to health facilities.

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