Source: Amnesty International –
The Cameroonian authorities must immediately release three supporters of the association Pouvoir au Peuple Camerounais (Power to the People of Cameroon – PPC) and their relatives arbitrarily arrested and detained for a fortnight and put an end to arbitrary arrests and detention in the country, Amnesty International said today.
On 9 September, three supporters of the PPC, Moustapha Tizi, Mohamadou Ballo and Ibrahim Oumarou were arrested allegedly for wearing t-shirts bearing the name of the organization in the town of Figuil, in the Mayo-Louti department in the North region. Hapsatou Issa, the sister of a PPC spokesperson, was also arrested on the same day. The PPC, a youth organization founded in August 2024, calls for a regime change.
“A year ahead of the presidential election in which President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982, plans to run, arbitrary arrests and detention of people perceived as critical against the regime are multiplying. The visit to Cameroon at the beginning of August by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who cited ‘serious concerns over restrictions on the freedom of expression and association and the right to peaceful assembly’, has not altered this trend,” said Fabien Offner, researcher at Amnesty International’s regional office for West and Central Africa.