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Annual Prison Census 2008: Cameroon

Journalists in prison as of December 1, 2008

CAMEROON: 2

Michel Mombio, L'Ouest Républicain
IMPRISONED: September 4, 2008

Security agents from Cameroon's State Secretariat for Defense arrested Mombio, editor of the bimonthly L'Ouest Républicain, at his office in the western town of Bafoussam in connection with a story critical of Scientific Research Minister Madeleine Tchuinté. The arrest was based on a complaint about an August 26 column headlined "The Crimes of Madeleine Tchuinté."

Mombio was transferred to the capital, Yaoundé, and detained for 11 days for questioning. On September 15, a court charged the journalist with attempted fraud, blackmail, and insult, and sent him to prison pending trial. He was denied bail.

Lewis Medjo, La Détente Libre
IMPRISONED: September 22, 2008

Police in the commercial city of Douala arrested Medjo, editor of the weekly tabloid La Détente Libre, in connection with a column alleging a falling-out between President Paul Biya and Alexis Dipanda Mouelle, president of the Supreme Court. Mouelle filed a complaint.

Medjo was also questioned about making copies of the passport of a former official under investigation for corruption, according to local journalists. He was charged with publishing "false news" after four days in police custody. He was denied bail pending trial and was being held at Douala's central prison.

Topics: Imprisonment, Freedom of expression, Freedom of information,