Cameroon: Prison sentence ends for man denounced as gay

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Interior of Yaoundé Central Prison. (Photo courtesy of Camerpress.com)

A Cameroon man, age 29, has been released from prison, putting an end to incarceration that began when a friend reportedly claimed the man was a homosexual, attorney Michel Togué reports.

The man (called Myan in this blog to protect him from homophobic attacks) was one of 10 prisoners who had all been arrested for homosexuality, who made contact in October 2013 with representatives from Camfaids (the Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS), an anti-AIDS, pro-human rights association based in Yaoundé that helps LGBT prisoners.

Myan said he was arrested after a friend, Nyman, named him as a homosexual in hopes of putting an end to a public caning that people at the Mfoundi market were giving to Nyman. That arrest was in 2012, he said. Separately, Togué said Myan was arrested in the fall of 2013.

After being denounced by Nyman, Myan was seized at home by police without an arrest warrant and without giving any explanation of why it was happening. He was then detained for three days at police headquarters in Yaoundé.

Myan and Nyman were taken to the district court in Yaoundé, then transferred to the central prison, where for about a year they have been harassed and shunned by other inmates, Camfaids reported in October 2013. They also had to sleep on the floor.

Visitors from Camfaids gave Myan a package containing tapioca, sugar and antiseptic soap and 1,000 CFA francs (U.S. $2) for their needs within the prison.

After being sent back to prison repeatedly by the judge, Myan said his lawyer has assured him that at his next court appearance he would be released.

That occurred on Nov. 29, 2013, during Myan’s appearance at the Court of First Instance of Ekounou in Yaoundé, Togué said.

No further news has been received from Myan, Togué said.