Gendarmes acquitted of killing youths, relatives appeal

A military court has acquitted gendarmes accused of killing nine youths who disappeared after being arrested by members of an elite crime-fighting unit. The lawyer for the relatives of the nine, Momo Jean de Dieu, has appealed against the tribunal's ruling. He also said he would keep fighting the case despite receiving anonymous threats. The nine youths were arrested in January 2001 by members of the Commandement Operationel (CO) following a complaint by a neighbour that they had stolen her gas cylinder. Since then, they have not been seen alive. In March 2001, following weeks of national and international protests, President Paul Biya ordered an investigation into the case. As a result, eight gendarmes were arrested, while a few senior officers of the CO were dismissed or demoted. On 23 April 2002, their trial opened at a military tribunal in Yaounde. On 9 July, the court acquitted six of the eight. The two others received suspended sentences of 15 and 16 months for going beyond their mandate, the judge saying they had ordered an investigation into the boys' disappearance whereas they had not been authorised to do so. The boys' relatives and several national human rights groups believe they were executed. One organisation, Action des chretiens pour l'abolition de la torture, said in a communique a few months ago after conducting an investigation that "the nine were executed in cold blood and their bodies were then burnt in acid". The defence team maintained that the boys had escaped from "Kosovo", the nickname given to the detention center where they had been taken. Human rights groups questioned this, pointing out that such an escape was unlikely given the tight security in the detention facility. "What's curious and suspicious," Momo told IRIN on Saturday, "is that the tribunal refused to have the bodies exhumed as I had demanded." He said the nine had been buried at a location not far from Douala and that he had offered to lead the members of the tribunal to the spot but his offer had been turned down. The tribunal also declared itself incompetent to rule on a demand by the relatives of the nine for the equivalent of about US $3.0 million in damages. Unable to put together a team of lawyers, Momo had had to fight the case on his own. He said he would continue to defend the interests of the families of the nine even though he had been threatened. "Despite the intimidation, I will continue to defend the families because I know where the truth is. I often receive anonymous phone calls threatening to kill me. They keep repeating 'we are going to kill you'. You have to take these warnings seriously," he said, adding that his phone was tapped, he was being followed and his mail was being opened. He said he was confident that sooner or later the state would compensate the families, adding that he would use all legal ways to ensure that justice was done. Should he fail to do so in Cameroon, he plans to take the case to a competent international tribunal.