After more than three years of detention and while the health of the former director general of the public broadcasting of Cameroon deteriorates, two medical reports certify that the journalist must carry out extensive examinations that can not be carried out in his country. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling on the authorities to release him and evacuate him so that he can be cured.
Will Cameroonian justice leave Amadou Vamoulké to die slowly behind bars at Kondengui central prison in Yaounde? Former Cameroon Radio Television ( CRTV ) General Director Must AppearMonday, Sept. 16, for the 22nd Time in Special Criminal Court Judging for Economic Crimes Never Established by Prosecution after More Than Three Years of Proceedings , RSF had access to two medical reports, the conclusions of which are unanimous.
The first, carried out by the central hospital of Yaoundé, recommends “an evacuation in a specialized center” justified according to the doctors by “a limited technical platform and the severity of the neurological affection” of which the journalist suffers. An analysis and recommendations shared by the American Hospital of Paris to which the medical file of Amadou Vamoulké was transmitted for opinion. In the certificate consulted by RSF, professor and neurologist Hervé Taillia, believes that the 69-year-old man presents “a deficient array of both limbs, severe and progressive” that requires examinations and treatments “that seem difficult to meet on site “. He recommends a “hospitalization in France”.
“Will we have to wait for a tragedy so that the ordeal suffered by this journalist who has not been tried for more than three years after his arrest ends? The medical reports are unequivocal: Amadou Vamoulké must be evacuated for treatment, says Arnaud Froger, head of RSF’s Africa office. We call on the Cameroonian authorities not to let one of the most prominent journalists in their country die in prison. “
The former head of CRTV, who was appointed by President Paul Biya to head Cameroon’s public broadcaster in 2005, was arrested in July 2016 . He is officially accused of embezzling several million euros for the sole benefit of CRTV . Charges that have never been established since the start of his trial despite 21 hearings.
Amadou Vamoulké was the only African journalist nominated this year for the RSF prize for press freedom. A fervent advocate of the opening of the audiovisual market in the name of pluralism and the decriminalization of press offenses in his country, he was also the first president of the Union of Journalists of Cameroon.
In March, RSF sent an open letter to President Paul Biya urging him to end the journalist’s detention.
In February, a dozen French parliamentarians wrote to President Emmanuel Macron and the Foreign Ministry to denounce this “political detention”. In its response, the ministry’s cabinet acknowledged that the prosecution “did not prove the relevance of its action” and announced that it would “pay close attention” to the conclusions of the working group of the Ministry. On arbitrary detention seized a few weeks earlier by RSF. In particular, our organization emphasized that the court that tried Amadou Vamoulké had far exceeded the maximum nine months during which he was supposed to make a decision.
Cameroon ranks 131st in the RSF World Press Freedom Index in 2019
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