Case History: Mouliom Illiassou
On 10 March 2015, the human rights defender Mr Mouliom Illiassou was provisionally released, following negotiations between his lawyer and the prosecutor of the Tribunal of Foumbot and the Attorney General.
Mouliom Illiassou is the President of the Comité National pour la Défense de la Démocratie – CNDD (National Committee for the Defence of Democracy), a civil society organisation based in Foumbot in western Cameroon. The human rights defender reports on human rights violations in the country, in particular corruption committed by the police and magistrates.
The Court of First Instance of Foumbot dropped the charges of "slanderous accusations" against human rights defender Mouliom Illiassou. Mouliom Illiassou was arrested at his home on 4 November 2014, on the basis of two complaints of "slanderous accusations" filed by police officers against him. The defender’s arrest was reportedly linked to a letter he sent to the Minister of State and the Minister of Justice on 14 October 2014, denouncing the arbitrary detention of Naseh Célestin, a member of the civil organisation Comité National pour la Défense de la Démocratie (National Committee for the Defence of Democracy - CNDD). Human rights defender Mouliom Illiassou was detained in Foumbot prison and provisionally released on 10 March 2015, despite a decision by the Court of First Instance of Noun ordering his release since December 2014.
On 10 March 2015, the human rights defender Mr Mouliom Illiassou was provisionally released, following negotiations between his lawyer and the prosecutor of the Tribunal of Foumbot and the Attorney General. On 2 March 2015, the First Instance Tribunal of Foumbot had ordered Mouliom Illiassou's release upon payment of a bail of 1,500,000 CFA (approximately €2286), which the human rights defender’s family was unable to pay. Under the new arrangement, Mouliom Illiassou was released after presenting three guarantors to the court.
The next hearing in the trial against Mouliom Illiassou has been scheduled for 6 April 2015. Since his arrest on 10 November 2014, the human rights defender had been in detention on charges of “slanderous accusations” against members of the police. Despite a decision by the First Instance Tribunal (TGI) of Noun in December 2014 ordering his release on the basis that his detention was unlawful, the prosecutor had continued to hold the human rights defender in detention.
The human rights defender Mr Mouliom Illiassou remains in detention despite a judicial decision made over two months ago ordering his release. The human rights defender is to appear before the First Instance Tribunal of Foumbot on 10 March 2015 in relation to charges of “slanderous accusations”.
Mouliom Illiassou has been unlawfully held in the Foumbot prison since his arrest on 10 November 2014. The hearing in March will be the third, after two previous hearings were adjourned due to the fact that the human rights defender was not present. Mouliom Illiassou did not appear before the court in October and December 2014 due to the failure of the authorities to ensure his transfer from prison to the court to attend the session.
On 1 December 2014, the First Instance Tribunal (TGI) of Noun, with jurisdiction to pronounce on the legality of Mouliom Illiassou's detention, found the detention to be unlawful and ordered his immediate release. However, for unknown reasons, the Public Prosecutor of the TGI continues to refuse to execute the decision.
On 10 November 2014, Mouliom Illiassou was placed in pre-trial detention upon orders of the Public Prosecutor. The human rights defender had been arrested at his home a few days earlier, on 4 November 2014, by the Foumbot police. Two complaints of “slanderous accusations” were brought against him by members of the police. However, according to the information received, the Cameroonian Criminal Code states that the human rights defender cannot be detained until the trial for “slanderous accusations” has been concluded and it has been established that the statements allegedly made by Mouliom Illiassou concerning the members of the police were unfounded.
The charges reportedly arise from a letter sent by the human rights defender to the Minister of State and the Minister of Justice on 14 October 2014. The letter denounced the arbitrary detention of Mr Naseh Célestin, a member of CNDD, by the police. Naseh Célestin had been detained the day before when he went to the police station in Foumbot to deliver a letter from CNDD, which denounced acts of corruption committed by the police. The human rights defender was released the next morning.
