More than 1,300 detainees have been released in the two main cities of Cameroon in order to disgorge overcrowded prisons and thus limit the risk of the spread of the new coronavirus in prison settings.
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"608 detainees have been released in Douala" , the economic capital, and "700 others in Yaoundé" , the political capital, said the Ministry of Justice in a note to AFP. In mid-April, Cameroonian President Paul Biya decreed the commutation and the delivery of sentences for certain prisoners. The process of releasing other prisoners "continues in the regions," the ministry said.
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The exact number of released prisoners "will be known at the end of the process because different commissions have been set up" to determine those who are eligible for the presidential measure, according to the government. Cameroon, which has officially reported 1,163 cases of infection and 42 deaths, is the second most affected country in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa.
"The infirmary is saturated with patients"
In remand centers, anxiety and tension increase as the virus continues to spread inside the country. "Several suspicious deaths have already been observed in the penitentiary" in Yaoundé, the prisoners in this prison wrote on Tuesday in a letter to the Minister of Justice, of which AFP obtained a copy. "The doctor quarantined dozens of detainees suspected of being infected with the virus," they reported, describing a "catastrophic health situation" . Added to this is "an epidemic of malaria" in several cells, they testify. Many detainees complain of fever, headache and difficulty breathing. "The infirmary is saturated with patients," they also write.
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More than 5,000 people crammed into this old prison, originally planned for 1,500 people. There are about 30,000 detainees in prisons in Cameroon, more than half of whom are accused awaiting trial, according to the Cameroonian bar. Occupancy rates in Cameroonian prisons vary by region from 90% to 294%.
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In addition to overcrowding, hygienic conditions are often deplorable and the prevalence of promiscuous pathologies such as tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS, cholera and scabies is very high. Food rations provided to prisoners are generally insufficient and detainees have to rely on relatives for supplies.
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