The American Bar Association has denounced the continue threats and persecutions of the press in Cameroon.
“The American Bar Association is deeply disturbed by the death of Cameroonian Journalist, Samuel Wazizi who died in military custody” they stated.
Wazizi was arrested and detained in Buea in August 2, 2019 after which he was arbitrarily taken to the nation’s capital by the military where he allegedly was tortured to by the forces of law and order.
Due to the excessive wounds gotten through the inhuman treatment he received in his detention cell, he was taken to the Yaounde Central hospital where he died.
The government through the Ministry of Defence in a communiqué attested to the death of the journalist Samuel Wazizi during detention but denied the fact that the deceased received any forms of torture or corporal mishandling. In the communiqué, the ministry of defence equally claimed to have informed Wazizi’s family about his demise though his family denied having been informed by anybody or institution of their son’s death.
The American Bar Association deeply regrets the situations that culminated to the death of the journalist and they unanimously called for an independent investigation into the matter. “the ABA calls on the Cameroon government to immediately undertake a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances leading to his death as well as the handling of the criminal proceedings relating to his case”.
The American Bar Association is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world and as the national voice of the legal profession; it makes it a duty upon themselves to improve the administration of justice as well as promoting programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work.
Mimi Mefo Info
