HRW Says Cameroon Government Tortured Deported Asylum Seekers From US
The international human rights body has revealed in a recent report that those who were deported from the United States in 2019 and 2021 are being maltreated in Cameroon by security forces.
According to Huma Rights Watch, these violations included, “Rape, torture and other physical abuse, arbitrary arrest and detention, inhuman and degrading treatment in detention, extortion, and threats.”
HRW said the perpetrators include police, gendarmes, and military personnel, among other officials and state agents. “Armed separatists also beat at least one deported person and threatened the relatives of others.” the report said.
According to the HRW research, at least 39 deported people were detained and tortured upon their return.
“This includes 19 people we interviewed who were detained in jails, prisons, military camps, or other detention facilities, both legal and illegal, for periods ranging from days to months. One man was detained twice. Many were held without due process or incommunicado, in some cases in circumstances that may constitute enforced disappearances. Nearly all described squalid detention conditions with little to no food, medical care, sanitation, or protection from Covid-19. Credible sources indicated authorities detained at least 20 other deported people as well, while additional unconfirmed reports suggest the total may be higher.”
The report further states that 13 cases of torture, physical or sexual abuse, or assault of deported people by state agents in detention, during or prior to arrests, or at their residences, were recorded.
“They said, ‘…You left and thought we wouldn’t get you… You will die in this jail,’” said Richard, imprisoned for a month post-deportation. “They took off my [clothes], so I was naked, and they beat me…for 14 days, every day… They were making me feel that’s the end of my life.”
More on the report here: Asylum Seekers Abused in the US and Deported to Harm in Cameroon | HRW
