Amnesty International has strongly condemned the life sentence handed down by a military court in Cameroon against prominent peace activist Abdu Karim Ali, denouncing it as an “affront to justice” and calling for his immediate and unconditional release.
Ali was sentenced on April 16 by a military tribunal in Yaoundé to life imprisonment on charges of “hostility against the homeland” and “secession.” According to Amnesty International, his arrest in August 2022 was carried out without a warrant, and he was arbitrarily detained following the release of a video in which he exposed acts of torture perpetrated by a militia leader in southwestern Cameroon.
The human rights organization expressed deep concern over the use of a military court to try a civilian, arguing that the proceedings contravened both Cameroonian law and international legal standards. Amnesty cited Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to a fair trial and prohibits the trial of civilians before military tribunals. The group further emphasized that Ali’s case falls under protections enshrined in Article 19 of the ICCPR, which upholds the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to seek, receive, and disseminate information.
Ali, who directed the Peace Research Centre in Bamenda, has been a vocal advocate for peaceful resolution to the ongoing Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. He notably supported a Swiss-mediated peace process aimed at resolving the long-running conflict between government forces and separatist groups in the country’s English-speaking regions.
Since 2016, Cameroon has been embroiled in an armed conflict rooted in socio-political grievances from the Anglophone regions—the North-West and South-West—against perceived marginalization by the Francophone-dominated government. Initial protests over the appointment of French-speaking teachers and judges in English-speaking areas escalated into a violent separatist movement, with factions declaring the independence of a self-proclaimed “Federal Republic of Ambazonia.”
The conflict has been marked by grave human rights abuses committed by both government forces and separatist fighters, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, and widespread suppression of free expression. Ali’s conviction is the latest in a series of crackdowns on activists. In 2024, several members of a youth organization were reportedly arrested for their involvement in peaceful advocacy efforts.
Amnesty International has urged Cameroonian authorities to annul the sentence, release Ali, and end the use of military courts to try civilians, underscoring the urgent need for judicial reforms that align with international human rights obligations.
Excerpts from jurist.com article by Salma Ben Mariem | Faculty of Law and Political Science of Sousse, TN
