International rights group, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has disclosed that the arrested and detained human rights lawyer, Amungwa Tanyi Nicodemus, is held on accounts of “bogus terrorism charges”.
The revelation is contained in the recent report published by Ilaria Allegrozzi, Senior Central Africa Researcher of the right group.
“Today marks one week since prominent Cameroonian human rights lawyer, Amungwa Tanyi Nicodemus, was thrown behind bars on bogus charges of inciting terrorism. He should be released immediately,” partly read the HRW report which further revealed that he was arrested by elements of the national Gendarmerie 31 May 2021 at the Groupement Territorial de la Gendarmerie in Yaoundé, while he was assisting a client.
The HRW report cited Amungwa’s lawyers as saying that the Amungwa criminal procedure had been breached in his client’s case, while the gendarme in charge of the investigation seized his phone without a warrant, claiming Amungwa had taken photographs at the facility.
“While searching for the alleged photographs, the gendarme found other photographs that recorded alleged military abuses in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions and arrested Amungwa,” the report cited the Amungwa’s lawyers as saying.
“Amungwa’s arrest is a direct attack on the legal profession. His arbitrary detention reveals a system geared towards stifling and undermining the role and activities of lawyers involved in key human rights cases,” HRW report quoted Ayukotang Ndep Nkongho, one of Amungwa’s lawyers as saying.
It further revealed that he was transferred to the Service Central des Recherches Judiciaires (SCRJ), at the State Defense Secretariat (SED). The report states that the Yaoundé military court prosecutor has rejected Amungwa’s lawyers’ request for bail and returned the case to the SCRJ for “relevant checks” despite the visit of the head Cameroon bar association, demanding his release.
The arrested Amungwa it should be noted is one of the lawyers representing Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, the jailed leader of the Cameroonian separatist group, the Ambazonia Interim Government, and several other people arrested in connection with the Anglophone crisis.
In a letter addressed to Yaounde military court prosecutor said to have been written and signed by Anglophone detainees at the Kondengui maximum security prison have expressed dismay on the arrest and detention of their lawyer, threatening to boycott all court sessions indefinitely if he is not release to continue defending them in court.
By Doh Bertrand Nua
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