Source: Amnesty International –
The life sentence handed down to Anglophone peace activist Abdu Karim Ali is an affront to justice, and he should be released immediately, Amnesty International said today, after obtaining the judgment convicting him.
Abdu Karim Ali, who was charged with “hostility against the homeland” and “secession”, was sentenced by the military Court in Yaoundé on 16 April. He had been arrested without a warrant in Bamenda in August 2022 after he denounced torture committed and broadcast online by the leader of a pro-government militia in the south-west region of the country. He has been arbitrarily detained since then.
The authorities tried Abdu Karim Ali in a military court, in violation of Cameroonian law and international human rights law and standards.
Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Interim Regional Director for West and Central Africa
“Abdu Karim Ali waited nearly three years before being tried by a military court and sentenced to an extreme punishment simply for exercising his right to freedom of expression. This shameful judgment breaches international human rights law and standards,” said Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Interim Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
“The authorities unlawfully held Abdu Karim Ali in prolonged arbitrary detention, and tried him in a military court, in violation of Cameroonian law and international human rights law and standards. Amnesty International calls for his immediate and unconditional release.”
In May 2024, Abdul Karim Ali challenged the jurisdiction of the military tribunal in a letter, refusing to recognize its authority. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia, after he refused to appear in the military court.
His lawyer told Amnesty International: “To think that he was prosecuted for his thoughts, national origins, associations and political opinion is the quintessential case of political persecution.” The lawyer also said that he has appealed the sentence.