Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called for an impartial, prompt and effective investigation into the death in custody of Cameroon opposition leader Anicet Ekane. He died on December 1 at the State Defense Secretariat detention facility in the capital, Yaoundé.
Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Africa researcher at HRW, said, “Ekane’s death may be an example of a broader systemic failure to protect the lives and dignity of people deprived of liberty in Cameroon.”
Ekane was the leader of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy party. He was detained on October 24, following the disputed presidential election, which confirmed Paul Biya for an eighth term. Ekane was charged with hostility against the state, incitement to revolt, and calls for insurrection, all of which he denied.
Ekane’s relatives and lawyers report that despite repeated requests, Ekane was “denied proper medical care” for his pre-existing respiratory condition, which worsened in custody. Hippolyte Meli, a member of his legal team, summarized the specific allegations against the detention facility in the HRW report:
He struggled breathing and was in a critical condition… We had alerted the prison authorities, but he was neither transferred to a civilian hospital nor given necessary treatment, and his oxygen concentrator [which helped him breathe] was confiscated at the time of his arrest.
Cameroon’s Minister of Communication René Emmanuel Sadi, said in a December 1 news release that Ekane received appropriate care at the National Gendarmerie Military Medical Center. The Ministry of Defence also published a press release, emphasizing the care Ekane received at their center and other medical facilities. Further, the Ministry indicated that an investigation has been opened which will be “subject to rigorous legal proceeding and appropriate communication.” Both reports expressed condolences for Ekane’s family.
Commentators describe the multi-decade presidency of Paul Biya as increasingly marked by “vanishing jobs, rising prices, and decaying infrastructure.” His re-election sparked widespread protests, which were met with “lethal force” and “mass arrests.”
A team of 149 lawyers was formed to provide free legal assistance to the approximately 2,000 people arrested, coordinated by Cameroonian lawyer Thierry Njifen. He explained the significance of the arrests and their access to counsel:
Whatever an individual is accused of, that person has the right to a defense. This aspect of collective punishment is unacceptable. It is essential to…guarantee their rights to a defense because we are in a state that aspires to be a state governed by the rule of law. As such, we cannot accept that people who are presumed innocent be treated inhumanely or in a degrading manner.
A “thorough, prompt, and impartial investigation” into all deaths in custody where unnatural causes are suggested is required by the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.
