This is the first article in a three-part series on prisoners currently at New Bell Prison in Cameroon after a Sept. 30 raid on the offices of the anti-AIDS and pro-LGBT-rights organization Alternatives Cameroon.
New Bell Prison in Douala, Cameroon.
By Jean Jacques Dissoke
The prosecutor in Douala, Cameroon, ordered four detainees to undergo anal exams earlier this month, despite their objections, in the illusory attempt of proving their homosexuality.
Forced anal exams have long been denounced by medical authorities around the world as useless and even a form of torture.
The four men were among the 13 people arrested and detained at the Alternatives Cameroon office in Douala on Sept. 30.
The men, three staff members of Alternatives and one client, were taken to a hospital for the examination while they were in custody at the police station, before they were sent to New Bell Prison.
They were:
- Denis Watonawa, psychological counselor for Alternatives;
- Oumarou Ousmanou, peer educator for Alternatives;
- Fotie Zidane, peer educator for Alternatives; and
- A 17-year-old client of Alternatives who has accused Oumarou of having sexual relations with him.
The exams were authorized on Oct. 3 during their first appearance before the investigating judge handing the case.
The detainees, their lawyers and human rights defenders opposed the judge’s order.
At the conclusion of the examinations, the doctor conducting the exam stated that he could not determine whether the four men had engaged in same-sex intercourse.
Charges against the 17-year-old were dropped and he was released. The other three, plus Hermine Ngo Ndaptie, drop-in center manager for Alternatives, were transferred to New Bell Prison while awaiting trial on homosexuality-related charges. In Cameroon, homosexual activity is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The president of Alternatives Cameroon, Lucien Ewane, also faces homosexuality-related charges. He was released on bail.
Jean Jacques Dissoke, the author of this article, is a Cameroonian activist. Contact him at [email protected].
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