The international NGO Human Rights Watch on Friday described as a “sham trial” the death sentence a month ago of four men for the murder of seven schoolchildren in an English-speaking province of Cameroon in the grip of a bloody separatist conflict.
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On October 24, 2020, a dozen armed men on motorcycles stormed a school in Kumba, in the Southwest region, and opened fire on students, killing seven children aged 9 to 12. A dozen others had been wounded by gunshot or machete wounds.
On September 7, the military court of Buea sentenced to “the death penalty with shooting in the public square” four of the twelve accused in this case, presented by the prosecution as English-speaking separatists, in particular for acts of terrorism, secession and assassinations, according to the Ministry of Defense.
In a statement, HRW denounced a “sham trial” not having “led to justice“. According to the NGO, this trial was”marked by procedural flaws“, notably “the use of a military tribunal to try civilians” who “violates international law”.
According to the human rights NGO, the defendants’ lawyers were not allowed to cross-examine witnesses and “the procedure has not been translated”, lamented HRW.
The NGO also criticized the arbitrary detention of the 12 accused, including the school director and five teachers, reporting that they “were initially detained without charge for more than 30 days.” “If the authorities intend to deliver justice for this heinous crime against children, they must launch credible civil proceedings and establish accountability in accordance with international fair trial standards.”, added Ilaria Allegrozzi, a researcher at HRW.
Contacted, the Ministry of Defense, on which the military courts depend, did not respond to AFP’s requests.
The four condemned to death were not executed and are detained in Buea, capital of the South-West, according to one of their lawyers, Me Walters Atoh. “I have started the appeal procedures. This normally suspends the execution of the sentence”, he explained to AFP.
Several death sentences have been handed down in the separatist conflict which has bloodied English-speaking regions for four years but – as in the rest of the country – none have been executed for more than 20 years.
In the two South-West and North-West regions, where most of the English-speaking minority lives in a predominantly French-speaking country led by the indestructible Paul Biya, 88 years old, of whom nearly 39 are in power, the armed separatist groups and the Security forces dispatched by Yaoundé clash in a deadly conflict.
Both camps are regularly accused by international NGOs and the UN of abuses and crimes against civilians.
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