Tactics and tools for the protection
of Human Rights Defenders

21 July 2011

On 16 July 2011, human rights defender Ms Maximilienne Ngo Mbe received a phone call summoning her to a meeting at the Department of Security of the Territory (Département de la Sécurité du Territoire – DST) in Yaounde. The call followed an interview given on 11 July 2011 to Radio France Internationale (RFI). Maximilienne Ngo Mbe is the executive director of the Human Rights Defenders Network of Central Africa (Réseau des défenseurs des droits humains de l’Afrique Centrale – REDHAC), based in Douala.

Further Information

Maximilienne Ngo Mbe received a call from a withheld number on 16 July at 7.30 pm. The caller, who refused to reveal his identify, stated that he was calling from the DST. He requested that Maximilienne Ngo Mbe present herself at the DST in Yaounde two days later, on 18 July, for questioning about an interview given to RFI on 11 July 2011. The caller then alleged that the objective behind the radio interview was to “destabilise the country and encourage breaches of public order.”

The interview in question was given following the publication of a statement by REDHAC denouncing the murder of a human rights defender in Kousseri, in the Extrême Nord region of Cameroon in June 2011.

Maximilienne Ngo Mbe informed the caller that she would not present herself at the DST unless she was provided with official written confirmation of such a request, as is standard procedure. The caller then began to threaten her stating that “We’re going to see, if you don’t come we’ll come after you.”

Furthermore, REDHAC reported that calls to Maximilienne Ngo Mbe’s home telephone are being monitored. Since 18 July 2011, international calls have been blocked. On 19 July, a contact of Maximilienne Ngo Mbe repeatedly attempted to call her from abroad however the call failed to connect. After a number of failed attempts,, an unknown man intervened on the line and asked who was calling, and from where the call being made.

In addition to the interview with RFI, REDHAC believes that the request to appear at the DST may be related to statements made by REDHAC regarding the arbitrary detention by the DST of eight civil society activists in February 2011. The trial against the eight individuals started on 17 July, the day after the aforementioned anonymous call was made.

Maximilienne Ngo Mbe has suffered repeated instances of harassment. In April 2011, unknown individuals stole work and ID documents from her bag. Similar episodes took place in March 2011 and July 2010. In March 2011, during a workshop held in Douala organised by REDHAC in collaboration with Front Line, two police agents broke into REDHAC office to interrogate participants on the objectives of the meeting.

Front Line is concerned about the anonymous request to appear before the DST, particularly considering the unlawful manner in which the request was made. Front Line is also concerned about repeated instances of harassment and intimidation perpetrated against Maximilienne Ngo Mbe. Front Line believes that these episodes are solely motivated by her legitimate human rights work as director of REDHAC including the denunciation of abuses committed against other human rights defenders in Cameroon.

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/n...