Cameroon police arrest man seized by anti-gay mob

Police in the Cameroonian coastal city of Limbe on Oct. 29 arrested a man on homosexuality charges after a mob seized him and delivered him to the police station.

Cornelius Fonya pleaded not guilty to the charges in a hearing on Nov. 7. His request for release on bail was denied. A hearing in his case is scheduled for Dec. 19.

Human rights lawyer Walter M. Atoh Tchemi, who is representing Fonya, said his client was arrested on the basis of the mob’s accusation, which in turn was based on accusations by two men who said Fonya had made advances toward them.

Fonya is accused of being caught in the act of homosexual sex, but Atoh said his client was not caught in the act of having sex with anyone.

Under Cameroonian law, homosexual activity is punishable by prison sentences of up to five years.

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Under that law, eight people are currently held in Cameroonian prisons and many more are awaiting trials that could lead to imprisonment.

The Cameroon government is under pressure to suspend that law from the United Nations human rights organization and from local and international human rights groups.