Ongoing judicial harassment targeting members of the Organic Farming for Gorillas (OFFGO)

CMR 001 / 0317 / OBS 033.1

Judicial harassment

Cameroon

June 19, 2017

The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requestsyour urgent intervention in the following situation in Cameroon.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed byreliable sources about the ongoing judicial harassment targeting severalmembers of the Organic Farming for Gorillas (OFFGO), a group of farmers foundedin September 2015 to promote organic farming, environmental protection,opposing land grabbing and working for the protection of the cross-rivergorilla in Mbengwi, in the North-West Region of Cameroon.

According to the information received,following a complaint filed on March 23, 2017, by Mr. Prince Vincent Awazi,Regent of Tudig and board member of OFFGO denouncing the illegal arrest,detention and expulsion of Mr. Jan Cappelle, founder of OFFGO, aswell as the subsequent harassment of several OFFGO members, the NationalCommission on Human Rights and Freedoms (CNDHL) carried out an investigationinto the abuses and judicial harassment targeting OFFGO members (see backgroundinformation). To date, despite the conduct of two field visits to Tudig andMbengwi on April 17 and 19, 2017, the conclusions of the CNDHL are yet to bemade public.

The Observatory is concerned by thedelays in the publication of the report and recommendations by the CNDHL. Althoughthere are no formal delays in which the CNDHL has to publish its reports,common practice usually sees the publication of report within a month. Suchdelay entail further harassment of OFFGO members and impunity for thoseresponsible. Consequently, the Observatory urges Cameroonian authorities toensure that the investigation is carried out in a comprehensive manner, withoutany hindrance and delays.

Furthermore, on May 17, 2017, Mr.Vincent Awazi, an OFFGO member, was summoned before the Mbengwi Court of First Instance,although to date he has not been notified of any charges pending against him.On that day, the judge failed to appear and no further hearing date had beenscheduled as of publication of this Appeal.

This is not the first time that Mr.Vincent Awazi has been summoned to appear before a court without being informedof any charges pending against him (see background information).

In addition, two other OFFGO membersMessrs. Matthias Awazi and Humfred Manjo are still facing chargesand if convicted, they could faceup to three years in prison (see background information).

Moreover, since May 29, 2017, theMbengwi Court of First Instance has repeatedly requested both the defendantsand the plaintiff to respectively pay 150,000 FCFA (approx. 229 euros) and100,000 FCFA (approx. 153 euros) in order to visit the community farm (locus fee). The Observatory expressesits concerned over this practice, illegal under Cameroonian law[1].

The Observatory is equally concerned bythe judicial harassment targeting OFFGO members and calls upon Cameroonianauthorities to put an end to any form of retaliation of their human rightsactivities.

Background information:

The village of Tudig, in Mbengwi, whereOFFGO has its headquarters, as well as its members, have been since 2016 thetarget of intimidation and harassment from the Divisional Officer of MbengwiSub-division and from Mr. Baba Danpullo, a billionaire businessman, cattlerancher, tea plantation owner and a member of the Central Committee of theruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) party, who has beeninvolved in several cases of land grabbing in the country[2].

In September 2015, OFFGO submitted areport to the Governor of the North-West region on the conflict opposingfarmers and cattle ranchers[3]. In October 2015, theSenior Divisional Officer of the Momo Division opened an investigation into theirregularities revealed in the report with respect to land attribution. InNovember 2015, a letter was sent to the Senior Divisional Officer of Momo andto the Governor of the North-West region to add up to the report submitted inSeptember 2015.

On January 21, 2016, during ameeting regarding the above-mentioned reports, the Divisional Officer ofMbengwi Sub-Division declared that he had requested an investigation on Mr. JanCappelle and on allegations of “support to the communities in Tudig”. Allegedlythe support provided would encourage communities to take their land back.Following this meeting, the Regent of Tudig’s representative sent a letter tothe Governor of the North-West region, to share his concerns regarding thisinvestigation, perceived as an act of intimidation against Mr. Cappelle and thelocal community.

Summoned to the Mbengwi gendarmerieon February 19, 2016, Mr. Cappelle went to the station on February 27, 2016 forinterrogation with his lawyer. As there was no evidence against him, he was notarrested.

In March 2016, the DivisionalOfficer of Mbengwi Sub-Division, again, asked for an investigation to becarried out into Mr. Cappelle’s activities, but this time to the Mbengwipolice. This investigation led to a report, stating that no threat to securitycould be reported with respect to Mr. Cappelle’s activities.

On April 25, 2016, Mr. Jan Cappellewas summoned to the Momo gendarmerie, without any explanation. On May 5, he wasinterrogated by the gendarmerie and another interrogation was scheduled on May11.

On May 10, 2016, a day before thesecond interrogation, Mr. Cappelle was arrested in Bamenda by the police andtransferred to Yaoundé where he was placed in detention and given no access tohis lawyer until May 12, 2016. On May 13, 2016, Mr. Cappelle was expelled fromCameroon to Belgium without any legal justification[4].An investigation into theexpulsion was launched in July 2016 by the National Gendarmerie of the NorthWest Region, concluding that the accusations were not justified. As of thepublication of this Appeal, no further actions were taken following theissuance of the Gendarmerie report, which was sent to the Presidency in August2016.

Furthermore, in May 2016, theDivisional Officer of Mbengwi Sub-Division informed verbally the villagers that he issued an injunctionfor the destruction of the organic community farm developed by OFFGO in Tudig. The Divisional Officer’scommunication resulted in a peaceful protest by hundreds of OFFGO members andvillagers, opposing the destruction order, which led to the arrest of two OFFGOboard members, Messrs. Matthias Awazi and Humfred Manjo on July 16, 2016 on charges ofviolating “Sub Prefectural Decision No053/SPD/BALPA/2015 placing an injunction order on a grazer area under disputein Tudig Village” and “illegal retention” of two goats under Section 322(3) ofthe Penal Code. They were transferred to the Mbengwi Tribunal of First Instanceand provisionally released on the same day.

On February 22, 2017, the hearing in thecase against OFFGO board members Matthias Awazi and Humfred Manjo, scheduledbefore the Mbengwi Court of First Instance, was postponed due to the ongoing lawyers’strike in the Anglophone region of Cameroon. As of publication of this Appeal,not further hearing date had been scheduled.

Messrs. Matthias Awazi and Humfred Manjoare being prosecuted under trumped-up charges of violation of “Sub PrefecturalDecision No 053/SPD/BALPA/2015 placing an injunction order on a grazer areaunder dispute in Tudig Village” and “illegal retention” of two goats underSection 322(3) of the Penal Code. If convicted, they face up to three years in prison.

In addition, the village of Tudig, hasbeen the target of several security incidents since mid-2016. Specifically,destructions and damages to the farmers’ huts, destruction of property, theftof crops as well as theft and killings of farm animals by armed civilians werereported respectively in September 2016, November 2016 and February 2017.Following these incidents, villagers went to the police station, respectivelyon November 22, 2016 and February 9, 2017, to file and update a complaint inrelation to the damages resulting from the intrusion of armed civilians withinthe village of Tudig. The complaint has been filed on grounds of death threats,destruction of property, intimidation and illegal possession of arms. As ofpublishing this Appeal, police investigation within the complaint was ongoing,but no investigation into the destructions has yet been undertaken. On March13, 2017, the village Regent of Tudig, Mr. Prince Vincent Awazi, a board member of OFFGO, received a message on his phone from one of the attackers, warning thevillagers to be vigilant and that they “will suffer”.

On February 18, 2017, armed elements ofthe army entered the village of Tudig and tried to arrest villagers[5].Besides, on February 2, 2017, the Mbengwi Prosecutor (State Counsel[6])briefly detained the village Regent Mr. Vincent Awazi for unknown reasons tolater free him on a 500,000 FCFA (approx. 762 Euros) bail. Although he wasnotified his summons to court for February 8, 2017, when he presented himselfto court no charges were brought against him - nor have been to date - as theState Counsel failed to transfer Mr. Awazi's file to court. Yet, Mr. Awazi gotinformed that the State Counsel is still investigating potential chargesagainst him.

Actionsrequested:

Please write to theauthorities of Cameroon and ask them to:

i. Put an end to all acts ofharassment - including at judicial level - against OFFGO members and all humanrights defenders in Cameroon;

ii. Guarantee in all circumstancesthe physical and psychological integrity, and security of OFFGO members and all human rights defenders in Cameroon;

iii. Ensure in all circumstancesthat OFFCO and its members as well as all human rights defenders in Cameroonare able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance andfear of reprisals;

iv. Conform in any circumstanceswith the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human RightsDefenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the UN General Assembly, inparticular its Articles 1 and 12.2;

v. Ensure in all circumstancesrespect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance withinternational human rights instruments ratified by Cameroon.

Addresses:

· Mr. PaulBiya, President of the Republic of Cameroon, Fax +237 222 22 08 70

· H.E. Mr. Philémon Yang, Prime Minister and Head ofGovernment of Cameroon, Fax: +237 222 23 57 35 / + 237 222 23 57 65. Email: spm@spm.gov.cm

· Mr. Laurent Esso, Minister of Justice of Cameroon,Fax: + 237 222 23 00 05 / + 237 222 23 55 59

· Mr. René Emmanuel SADI, Minister of TerritorialAdministration of Cameroon, Fax: + 237 22 22 37 35

· James Mouangue Kobila, President of the NationalCommission on Human Rights and Freedoms, Fax: +237 222 22 60 82, E-mail: cndhl@iccnet.cm / mouangue2001@yahoo.fr

· H.E. Mr. Anatole Fabien Nkou,Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Cameroon to the United NationsOffice in Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: + 41 22 736 21 65, Email: mission.cameroun@bluewin.ch

· H.E. Mr. Daniel Evina Abe'e, Cameroon Ambassador to the European Union,Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon, Brussels, Belgium. Fax: + 32 2 344 57 35;E-mail: ambassade.cameroun@skynet.be

Please also write todiplomatic representations of Cameroon in your respective countries.

***

Paris-Geneva, June 19,2017

Kindly inform us of anyaction undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, an FIDHand OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of human rights defenders andaims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. FIDH and OMCT are bothmembers of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European UnionHuman Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.

To contact theObservatory, call the emergency line:

· Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and faxFIDH: +33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / 01 43 55 18 80

· Tel and faxOMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29

[1] Sub-Chapter II of the Cameroonian Code of Criminal Procedurewhich provides for visit to the locus in quo, searches and seizures does notinclude any locus fee that should be paid by the parties.

[2] In 1986, Mr. BabaAhmadou Danpullo established two cattle ranches in the Boyo and Menchumdivisions of the North-West Region. He allegedly forced farming communitiesfrom their lands without compensation, which made him the largest single privatelandowner in the region. Since then, the landowner, who has close links withthe authorities, has been involved in land disputes with local farmers whopeacefully defend the right to use their land. See the Observatory’s UrgentAppeal CMR 001 / 0716 / OBS 056.2 ofJanuary 13, 2017.

[3] The report is available at the following address: http://capacityfordevelopment.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/21092015_Report-to-Governor_r2.pdf

[4] However Mr. Danpullo’s direct involvement into Mr. JanCappelle’s expulsion has been verbally reported to OFFGO members by theNational Gendarmerie of Momo as well as by the National Gendarmerie of theNorth West region, and sources at the Presidency. In addition, a leaked reportfrom the National Gendarmerie of the North West region accuses Mr. Jan Cappelleof defamation and attempted murder against Mr. Danpullo. Another document inthe file alleged that Mr. Jan Cappelle was in possession of GPS, trackers andbombs as so-called “instruments” to kill Mr. Danpullo.

[5] On February 18, 2017, the army entered the village ofTudig as an independence flag appeared in the village. Villagers denied hostingthe flag in the village and it is believed, considering the current politicalsituation in the anglophone region of Cameroon, that the flag was in realityput in the village of Tudig to provoke arrests by the army. However, no arresteventually took place on that day.

[6] Under Cameroonian law, the State Counsel is the office ofthe Prosecutors, constituting the legal department/prosecution department.