Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada through its representative; Barrister Agbor Nkongho has called for the immediate release of Barristers Michelle Ndoki, Eyambe Elias and Shufai Blaise as well as other advocates for Anglophone rights detained in Cameroon.
Speaking at the United Nations Human rights council today, Barrister Agbor Balla said the Rights Watch body was calling for a stop to violations including “arbitrary detention of lawyers and defenders in China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Cameroon.”
In Cameroon, he said “counter-terrorism measures and military courts are used to arbitrarily detain persons peacefully advocating for rights of Anglophone minorities.”
Other unlawful practices he added include incommunicado detention without access to lawyers, and reports of torture, noting that the the detention of journalist Mancho Bibixy is arbitrary.
Apart from highlighting the need for an independent investigation into Bibixy’s issue, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada went on to press for the release of some detained Cameroon lawyers.
“We call on the Council to urge Cameroon to immediately and unconditionally release all lawyers and advocates for Anglophone minority rights; and cooperate with all recommendations of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention” the rights body noted.
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