Human Rights Watch, an international non-governmental organization headquartered in New York City, has saluted the on-going sit-in by lawyers all over Cameroon.
The organisation specialised in conducting research and advocacy on human rights says the strike should ring alarm bells over the inability of lawyers to freely do their job and the violations of the basic rights detainees.
Central Africa Director of Human Rights Watch, Lewis Mudge writes that the strike occurs about a month after inmates in Yaoundé’s Central Prison rioted in protest against abysmal living conditions and trial delays.
“Following the riot, Cameroonian authorities held over 100 detainees incommunicado for almost 2 weeks at SED. Many of them were tortured,” he said.
Human Rights Watch quotes one of the lawyers as saying: “This is our way to say no to the abuse and the denial of basic rights.”
According to him, "Lawyers always have a critical role to play in protecting the rights of suspects in custody and defendants in court, and their role in protecting human rights is fundamental in the context of the current crackdown in Cameroon.
They should be allowed to carry out their jobs safely, without undue interference, and freely access their clients in custody in order to protect their rights and prepare their defense.
He concluded by saying that; "this strike should ring alarm bells over the lawyers’ inability to do so and the violations of detainees’ basic rights.”
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