he International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has renewed its call for justice for the “Yaoundé 11” as reports from Cameroon confirm that two of the 11 men detained in a prison for the last nine month on sodomy charges have been released and trial for the other nine detainees has been set for March 13, 2006. IGLHRC considers these men to be unfairly detained and is demanding their immediate and unconditional release. IGLHRC has been working with the 11 men and their lawyers since their arrest in May 2005.

Recent media frenzy in Cameroon is providing evidence of the high levels of homophobia in that country. Over the last month Cameroon’s tabloids have issued lists of well-known public figures about whom the newspapers claim to have proof of homosexuality. Last week two other men in a separate case were sentenced to a year in prison for a consensual homosexual encounter in the West African nation.

“The great news is that two of the men have been released,” said Paula Ettelbrick, Executive Director IGLHRC. “The troublesome news is that a climate of public homophobia has emerged in Cameroon that causes great concern about the fate of the remaining detainees.”

The 11 men, all between the ages of 17 and 35, were arrested in a nightclub, for “sodomy” offenses and have been held since May at Kondengui Central Prison in Yaoundé, Cameroon. In December 2005, IGLHRC wrote to the Cameroonian Minister of Justice and called for the immediate release of the men and demanded that they not be subject to invasive and useless physical examinations the government had ordered to “prove” whether the men had engaged in sodomy. These examinations have not yet been carried out.

However, in a January 2006 letter to IGLHRC, the Minister of Justice, Mr. Amadou Ali, justified the continued detention of the 11 men as ensuring “that positive African cultural values are preserved”. According to Mr. Ali, “homosexuality is not a value accepted in the Cameroonian society.” According to section 347 (bis) Ordinance No 72-16 of the 28th September 1972 penal code, homosexuality is an offense punishable by up to five years in prison. Public sentiment regarding gay and lesbian identity is harsh and most same-gender loving people live lives shrouded in secrecy.

“Sodomy laws are wrong, and the UN Human Rights Committee has made this clear in1994,” stated Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC’s Senior Specialist for Africa. “While homosexuality may currently be illegal in Cameroon, it is a common and age-old part of African sexuality—our Cameroonian colleagues confirm this.”

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to both of which Cameroon is a signatory, prevents unfair discrimination against members of minority groups regardless of how they may be viewed in a society.

“IGLHRC and the entire human rights community is asking the government of Cameroon to stop this witch hunt against its citizens,” Johnson said.

Background on the case:

On 21 May 2005, gendarmes from the Nlongka Brigade arrested 17 men at a nightclub believed to frequented by gays and lesbians. These arrests were first reported by the local newspaper, Mutations, and were confirmed by the United States Embassy in Cameroon. National television in Cameroon and local Channel 2 broadcasted images of the young men after their arrest. The 11 men who remained in detention are those too poor to find a means to be released or to hire a lawyer. Many have been abandoned by their families due to publicity related to the case.

In July 2005, IGLHRC and Behind the Mask, a South Africa-based LGBT media outlet and human rights organization, launched a letter-writing campaign on behalf of the detainees, but the government failed to release the men.

In December 2005, delivered a letter to the Minister of Justice of Cameroon urging him to release 11 men detained for the last seven months on suspicion of “sodomy” and to prevent a government-ordered “medical examination” to whether the men have engaged in homosexual conduct. Seven other human rights organizations—both American and African—signed the letter to S.E. Monsieur Amadou ALI, entreating the minister to prevent the medical examinations that have been ordered by a government prosecutor.