Pre-trial detention in Cameroon : these anomalies which embarrass Cameroon Human Rights Commission

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The seventh African Day of Pre-trial Detention will be celebrated on april 25, 2024. Before that, the Commission has published one Statement.

” The Commission bears in mind certain constraints on the operation of penitentiary institutions, mainly due to overcrowding, with an occupancy rate of 164.25 per cent, the 76 prisons in operation in Cameroon, with a total capacity of 20,955 places, had a total population of 34,419 inmates as at 15 April 2024, including 19,109 remand prisoners (55.52 per cent) and 15,310 convicted prisoners (44.48 per cent).

The Commission is still concerned about the sluggishness in processing the cases of detainees under judicial investigation, as well as the difficult communication between the Legal Department and the prison, which exacerbates the ignorance of some detainees about the status of their judicial matters.

The Commission strongly condemns, the cases of abusive pre-trial detention observed at the Ngaoundéré Central Prison, Guider Principal Prison, Tcholliré Principal Prison and Ntui Principal Prison since 25 April 2023, acts that contribute to intensify overcrowding in prisons.

The Commission recommends that the Government further raise awareness among the public and detainees in particular, including in cooperation with organisations promoting and defending human rights, of the existence and effectiveness of the Commission for Compensation for Illegal Pre-trial Detention or Police Custody”.

 

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