What changed

B100237/2025

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

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on CameroonCameroon,

– having regard to Rule 150144 of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas several NGOs submitted a report to the UN on freedom of expression and press in 2023; whereas this report concluded that Cameroonian journalists face lethal threats and false legal charges while reporting on the Anglophone conflict; whereas there is virtually no press freedom in Cameroon; whereas journalists and media outlets have to use self-censorship in order to avoid harassment and prosecution; whereas the largest media outlets are owned by the state and being used to distribute propaganda of President Biya, who has been in power since 1982; whereas privately owned media outlets are strictly supervised; whereas Freedom House stated in 2022 that Cameroon is not a free state;

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 Cameroon is one of Africa’s most dangerous countries for journalists who have to work in a hostile and precarious environment; whereas several journalists have been murdered; whereas it is impossible for media outlets to adopt critical and independent editorial policy without facing a significant risk of harassment, legal issues or lethal threats if its reporting endangers the interests of the government and its representatives; whereas Cameroon’s laws, including the 1990 press freedom law, are often circumvented in order to repress journalists; whereas anti-terrorism laws and military tribunals have been abused by the authorities to detain, prosecute and imprison representatives of the media;

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 CameroonTsi hasConrad, detained,Mancho prosecutedBibixy, Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka, and imprisonedThomas severalAwah Junior are journalists andwho otherreported representativeson the situation in the English-speaking regions of media,Cameroon, mostincluding notablyabuses perpetrated during the armed conflict and ongoing civil unrest; whereas Amadou Vamoulké, Kingsleya Fomunyuyjournalist Njoka,in Manchopoor Bibixy,health, Thomaswas Awahsentenced Juniorto anda Tsitotal Conrad;of whereas32 theseyears individualsin haveprison beenbecause detained,of prosecuted,his orindependent imprisonedmanagement onof baselessthe charges;state broadcaster;

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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;

Strongly condemns the unjust imprisonment of Amadou Vamoulké, Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka, Mancho Bibixy, Thomas Awah Junior, Tsi Conrad and all other media representatives;

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;

Demands that the Cameroonian authorities release all media representatives immediately and unconditionally, as well as all others detained or imprisoned for exercising their freedoms, democratic rights, while doing their job and to drop all charges against them;

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;

Denounces the degradation of the rule of law, human rights and press freedom in Cameroon and urges the authorities to repeal all repressive legislation and ensure the judiciary’s independence;

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;

Demands that Cameroonian authorities stop all ongoing human rights violations related to freedom of press, expression, and speech; demands that the right to press freedom be fully restored;

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;

Highlights the need to protect civil society organizations and preserve press freedom;

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 Member States to exert diplomatic and economic pressure towards Cameroon until all unduly imprisoned journalists and other media representatives are released;

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 Council, the Commission,VP/HR, the VP/HR,Council, the Cameroonian authorities,Commission, the African Union,governments theand Secretary-Generalparliaments of the UnitedMember NationsStates, and the Pan-Africanauthorities Parliament.of Cameroon.