In a letter to Justice Minister Amadou Ali, RSF expressed its concern following the arrest of the publication director of "Le Front Indépendant" and the police's efforts to locate and arrest the publication director of "La Nouvelle Presse".

According to reports, Mr Baongla, publication director of the weekly Le Démenti, was arrested on 9 January. Two days later, he appeared before a judge and was jailed at the Nkondengui central prison in Yaoundé. Police officers also seized the newspaper's computers.

In a letter to Justice Minister Amadou Ali, RSF asked for clarification following the sentencing of Georges Baongla, publication director of the weekly "Le Démenti", to five years' imprisonment. "Due process was seemingly not respected in this case.

The arrest of a respected human rights lawyer underlines a consistent pattern of intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders in Cameroon, Amnesty International have said.

The GASHAKA GUMTI TCHABAL MBABO PROJECT, funded by GEF-UNDP aims, through a partnership of local communities, government agencies and NGOs to address the root causes of biodiversity loss in the ecosystems of Gashaka Gumti (Nigeria) and Tchabal Mbabo (Cameroon).