Cameroon: Stop Turning Blind Eye to Death Threats
(Nairobi, February 13, 2013) – The government of Cameroon should immediately take action against a series of death threats made over the last four months to two lawyers who represent clients accused of homosexual conduct, Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter to President Paul Biya.
Alice Nkom and Michel Togué, Cameroonian human rights lawyers, began receiving death threats in October 2012, in the form of emails and text messages, assailing the lawyers for their work defending clients charged with homosexuality. Consensual same-sex conduct is criminalized under the Cameroonian penal code’s article 347 bis, and at least 28 people have been prosecuted under the law since 2010. Nkom and Togué are among the only lawyers courageous enough to take up these cases in a country where homophobia is pervasive.
Alice Nkom and Michel Togué, Cameroonian human rights lawyers, began receiving death threats in October 2012, in the form of emails and text messages, assailing the lawyers for their work defending clients charged with homosexuality. Consensual same-sex conduct is criminalized under the Cameroonian penal code’s article 347 bis, and at least 28 people have been prosecuted under the law since 2010. Nkom and Togué are among the only lawyers courageous enough to take up these cases in a country where homophobia is pervasive.
Related News
ENG
FRA
ESP
Thursday, 8 October 2026
US: Deportations to African Countries Not Their Own
Denied Due Process; Some Returned to Danger in Home Countries
ENG
FRA
Wednesday, 22 July 2026
DR Congo: Oil Company Operations Pose Grave Pollution Threat
Transparency Needed to Address Health Risks to Nearby Communities
ENG
Friday, 12 June 2026
Malawi: People with Albinism Face Discrimination, Barriers to Work
Stigma, Insecurity, Lack of Accommodations Undermine Rights