On Prosecution of journalists in Cameroon, notably the cases of Amadou Vamoulké, Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka, Mancho Bibixy, Thomas Awah Junior and Tsi Conrad

B100232/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on Prosecution of journalists in Cameroon, notably the cases of Amadou Vamoulké, Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka, Mancho Bibixy, Thomas Awah Junior and Tsi Conrad

(2025/2627(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Cameroon,

– having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas press freedom and journalist safety in Cameroon has been in decline for more than a decade; whereas journalists are routinely detained, attacked, censored, and imprisoned on anti-state, criminal defamation, false news, and/or retaliatory charges; whereas journalists are regularly sentenced to decades in prison without a fair trial or appeals processes; whereas several journalists have died in government custody under suspicious circumstances in recent years;

whereas journalists in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon are particularly targeted, with legal charges including anti-terror, anti-state, “false news” and their cases prosecuted by military tribunals as opposed to civilian courts;

whereas Tsi Conrad, Mancho Bibixy, Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka, and Thomas Awah Junior are journalists who reported on the situation in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, including abuses perpetrated during the armed conflict and ongoing civil unrest; whereas Amadou Vamoulké, a journalist in poor health, was sentenced to a total of 32 years in prison because of his independent management of the state broadcaster;

whereas the EU is Cameroon’s leading trade partner, with Cameroon's exports towards the European market estimated at nearly half of the country’s total exports;

Condemns the structural violations of the human rights of journalists by the Cameroonian authorities, including all attacks, retaliatory charges, arbitrary detention, and unfair trials; urges the government of Cameroon to respect freedom of expression and freedom of the press, in line with its international obligations including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Calls for the immediate and unconditional release and effective rehabilitation of Amadou Vamoulké, Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka, Mancho Bibixy, Thomas Awah Junior, Tsi Conrad, and all other jailed journalists in Cameroon;

Calls on the EU Delegation to Cameroon and Member States’ diplomatic missions to respond to restrictions against journalists, including ensuring comprehensive trial observation, visiting journalists in detention, and maintaining active contact with at-risk journalists, their families and colleagues; calls on them to also press the authorities for independent and transparent investigations into the suspicious deaths of journalists in recent years, including in government custody;

Calls on Member States to recognise the dire situation for journalists in Cameroon and facilitate applications for humanitarian visa for Cameroonian journalists at risk of persecution;

Calls on the EU and Member States to make better use of the their economic and diplomatic presence in Cameroon to urge the authorities to release jailed journalists and abide by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other international human rights standards;

Calls on the Commission to consider sanctions against individuals who have committed or are complicit in human rights violations against members of the press in Cameroon, including abductions, torture, killings and arbitrary detention;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and the authorities of Cameroon.