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"Your support is having an immediate impact. I have seen what it did when 50,000 mobilized, now let's get to 100,000" Spread the word about Alice's appeal via Facebook, Twitter, or by forwarding this email |
Dear friends,
I'm about to walk into a courtroom in downtown Yaoundé to defend Jonas, 19 and Franky, 20 - two Cameroonian boys arrested last July for the "crime" of being gay.
It's going to be a tough one, but I've never felt so strong : I know I have your support and 55,000 people behind me.
Your efforts are having an immediate impact. My cell phone has been ringing non-stop with everyone from diplomats to human rights organizations and high profile media telling me that they are now paying attention to the crisis here. Also, I just heard that today's case is being closely monitored at the highest levels of our government. The Ministry of Justice knows the world is watching and that Cameroon's reputation is at stake.
This is really positive - but many of the people arrested because they are gay are still in jail, and the violence is ongoing. We need to show the authorities that we will not stop until everyone is released, and until homosexuality is no longer criminalized under Cameroon's laws.
I have seen what it did when 50,000 mobilized, now let's get to 100,000. I am asking each one of you to reach out to your friends and family, via Facebook, Twitter, or by forwarding them this email.
Post a message on your Facebook to ask your friends to sign the petition.
Tweet to President Biya's account, or forward this email now to your friends and family
I will keep you posted on how the situation evolves.
Thanks for standing with me,
Alice
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Sent: 16 September 2011
| Over 10 people arrested for the "crime" of being gay. Help Alice and her colleagues in Cameroon by asking the president of Cameroon to stop the witch hunt and free those imprisoned because of who they are:
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Dear Mark,
My name is Alice N'Kom, and here in Cameroon I am one of the only attorneys who defends people who've been jailed because they are gay.
In the last two weeks violence against gay people in Cameroon has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels: the situation is quickly becoming a crisis. The president of Cameroon can put a stop to this, and if he feels enough pressure he will do so.
I'm watching police in Cameroon conduct an anti-gay crackdown - over 10 people have been arrested on charges of "homosexuality" in the last month. One of them, Jean-Claude, has been sentenced to 3 years in prison merely for sending a text message to another man. I've heard countless recent stories of homophobic violence throughout the country. I'm 66, and in ten years of defending lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) people in Cameroon, it has never been this bad.Only one person can put an end to this gay bashing - President Paul Biya. He can stop the escalating crisis of homophobic roundups and attacks, and he can immediately release those still in prison and call for the end of Cameroon's laws against homosexuality.Time is running out. I'm headed to Cameroon's capital, Yaoundé, to confront the President with these demands. He will not be able to ignore a powerful outcry from every corner of the globe. I am counting on your help. Please add your voice to our urgent appeal now: www.allout.org/cameroonAlice N'Kom, Cameroonian attorney
Founder of the Association for the Defense of LGBT Rights in Cameroon (ADEFHO)
in partnership with Alternatives-Cameroun
Find more information here :
Cameroon homosexuality trial condemned - The Guardian, 17 August 2011
Cameroon: Call to end 'feminine men' homosexual trial - BBC, 19 August 2011
Cameroon to toughen laws against gays - Agence France-Presse, 20 August 2011
Cameroon charges four more with homosexuality - Agence France-Presse, 27 August 2011
Criminalizing Identities - a joint report by Human Rights Watch, IGLHRC, Adefho and Alternatives-Cameroun on the criminalization of homosexuality in Cameroon, November 2010
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