Sunday 8 May 2011

In Cameroon, entrapment leads to long prison sentence for gay man

prison barImage by Leonard Chien via Flickr
By Paul Canning

Cameroon groups ADEFHO (Association  pour  la  Défense  des  Homosexuels, Association for the Defense of Homosexuals), SID’ADO (Les Adolescents Contre le Sida, Teenagers Against HIV/AIDS) report that the entrapment of a gay man in Cameroon's capital Yaoundé has led to a 36 month prison sentence for homosexuality.

The man, Roger Jean-Claude Mbede, had sent a text to a man he believed to be gay but when he went to meet him the appointment "has proven to be an ambush", the group's statement said, and he was arrested 2 March by 'elements' of the SED (Secretary of State for defense).

Having confessed that he was gay, Roger spent seven days in police custody and was then taken to the Yaoundé Central Prison. After three court appearances he was finally sentenced 28 April by the Court of First Instance of Yaoundé administrative center.

The groups say he is currently receiving antibiotics prescribed by the prison infirmary although they have no
information about his real state of health. They says he faces nutrition problems and is the victim of threats and homophobia. He spends his nights on the floor because he did not pay a bribe.
"He is in a lamentable psychological state," they say.
Last week we reported on the arrests of three gay men in Cameroon. In January reports surfaced of a young gay man being nearly burnt to death by a mob.
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1 comment:

  1. Cameroon must be a crime-free country why the State is wasting taxpayers' money to arrest homosexuals? Remind me NEVER to visit such a backward and evil country.

    ReplyDelete

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