At 16:00 on 6 June 1995 police interrogated Ndzana Seme, editor- in-chief of the paper “Le Nouvel Independent”, without reason or an arrest warrant. At about 6:30 that morning they made a first attempt to arrest him. After forcing open the door of the home of Ndzana Seme, which is also the head office of […]
At 16:00 on 6 June 1995 police interrogated Ndzana Seme, editor-
in-chief of the paper “Le Nouvel Independent”, without reason or
an arrest warrant. At about 6:30 that morning they made a first
attempt to arrest him. After forcing open the door of the home of
Ndzana Seme, which is also the head office of “Le Nouvel
Independent”, the leaders of the paper refused to open the door
to the paper’s offices, demanding that the police produce the
type of arrest warrant necessary for this type of interrogation.
The police kept the building under siege throughout the whole
day. It was only at the end of the afternoon that they decided to
mount an assault, forcing the door, using truncheons to beat the
two journalists and nine office workers who they found inside,
before taking Ndzana Seme with force to the police station in the
7th arrondissement, where they imprisoned him.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to Cameroonian authorities:
committed an assault against the editor and staff of “Le Nouvel
Independent”, and that this act was a deliberate attack on the
freedom of the press
serious as it comes after a long series of harassment against
this paper
Seme, who is being illegally held
Appeals To
His Excellency Paul Biya
President of the Republic of Cameroon
Palais de l’Unite
Yaounde, Cameroon
Fax: +237 23 30 22 or +237 22 16 99
Please copy appeals to the originator if possible.
