One year after the murder of journalist and human rights defender Eric Ohena Lembembe, committed to the protection of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) in Cameroon, justice still remains stalled.
Five human rights associations in Cameroon have criticised failures of justice in this case and fear there is a sign of a lack of political will to shed light on the circumstances of the killing.
At an update on the progress of the judiciary, the report is damning. Sloppy investigation, instruction and disdain and intimidation of the victim's relatives.
Initially assigned to the Commission of the first district of Yaoundé, the investigation is then conducted by the Central Administration of National Security, before being transmitted to a judge who, one year after the murder, still has no answers to the many irregularities the case: why no pictures or fingerprints were taken at the crime scene; why the death certificate does not mention the burns and other visible injuries on the body of the deceased etc.
Meanwhile, the family and relatives of the victim face what can only be described as intimidation. Several friends and family of Eric were placed in custody by the police at the very beginning of the investigation; relatives and witnesses summoned by the judge have never been heard despite the efforts and raises made by counsel for the plaintiff.
"The Cameroonian justice system should definitely conduct a fair and honest investigation into the murder of Eric Lembembe," said Dominique Menoga Nanga, founder of CAMFAIDS. "Pretending Eric is guilty of his own murder is insulting. Nobody deserves to die because of his identity or the person he loves."
In January 2014, the Observatory led an international mission to investigate the situation of LGBTI rights defenders in Cameroon and has seen the precarious environment and acts of intimidation against defenders of the right to health and human rights of LGBTI people in the context of the criminalization of homosexuality.
The mission also met with several witnesses, relatives of the victim and justice stakeholders to take stock of the progress of the investigation into his death. A mission report will be published in the coming weeks.
Eric Lembembe was the executive director of the Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS (CAMFAIDS). He worked in collaboration with several organizations such as Alternatives Cameroon and the Association for the Defence of Homosexuals (ADEFHO).
He contributed in particular to the preparation and dissemination of a report published by Human Rights Watch in March 2013 and had made recommendations during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cameroon to the Council of Human Rights UN in May 2013.
Eric also contributed to the blog Erasing 76 Crimes and participated in writing the book From Wrongs to Gay Rights.
The victim was found murdered in his home in Yaoundé on 15 July 2013. According to testimony, he was beaten to death by his assailants, his neck and feet had apparently been broken and his face, hands and feet burned with an iron.
"This is a particularly heinous and violent crime that targeted a man committed to defending the rights of a vulnerable category of the population of Cameroon. We repeat: justice must be particularly exemplary in the case of hate crimes," said Karim Lahidji, president of FIDH and Gerald Staberock, OMCT Secretary General.
Michel togue, a lawyer from Cameroon and legal counsel CAMFAIDS bar, added: "Our organizations are concerned that the attitude of the police and judicial authorities in this case is not a reflection of the contempt of these institutions to respect and protect the human rights of LGBTI people in Cameroon.
"The inertia of Cameroonian authorities on this case is all the more disturbing because it may encourage a sense of impunity for crimes and persecution of LGBTI people and fuel stigma and discrimination against persons with disabilities and their advocates."
Alternatives Cameroon, ADEFHO, CAMFAIDS, MDHC, the Observatory and the REDHAC renewed their appeal to competent Cameroonian authorities to conduct an independent, effective, thorough, impartial and transparent investigation in order to identify those responsible.
And then bring them before an independent tribunal, competent and impartial in accordance with international and regional instruments for the protection of human rights, and apply the penal, civil and / or administrative sanctions provided by law.
