Amnesty International Accuses Cameroon of Torturing Suspects
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSJULY 20, 2017
DAKAR, Senegal — More than 100 people have been tortured by Cameroon’s security forces
and held incommunicado in the past four years after being accused of having links to the extremist group Boko Haram, according to a report issued Thursday by Amnesty International.
A letter from the American Embassy in Cameroon to Amnesty said
that it took such allegations seriously, and that the United States did not provide aid to any security unit if it had "credible information that such a unit has committed a gross violation of human rights."
Suspects are usually detained after attacks by Boko Haram, whose insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people
and displaced millions in Nigeria and nearby countries, including Cameroon.
" the report said, adding that they were also suspended from poles and subjected to drowning, and
that many were deprived of food, water and medical care. that Detainees were severely beaten with various objects including electric cables, machetes and wooden sticks,
Though no one interviewed told Amnesty of direct involvement by agents of other countries, some
described seeing white men speaking English at a military base where torture occurred.
Most of the 101 cases investigated by Amnesty involved men 18 to 45 years old, though it documented
the mistreatment of women, children and people with mental and physical disabilities.
