Gay 'Prisoner of Conscience' Dies in Cameroon

Sunni Man

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Aug 14, 2008
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A gay man in Cameroon who was jailed for sending a text message to another man saying "I'm very much in love with you," and who was later declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, has died, according to a lawyer who worked on his case.

Roger Jean-Claude Mbede, 34, died on Friday after his family removed him from the hospital where he had been seeking treatment for a hernia, lawyer Alice Nkom said.

"His family said he was a curse for them and that we should let him die," she said.

Mbede was arrested in March 2011 in connection with the text message and convicted the following month under a Cameroonian law that imposes up to five years in prison for homosexual acts. He received a three-year sentence.

Cameroon brings more cases against suspected homosexuals than any other African country, according to Human Rights Watch. The rights group said in a March 2013 report that at least 28 people had been charged under the law in the past three years.

Gay 'Prisoner of Conscience' Dies in Cameroon - ABC News
 
"His family said he was a curse for them and that we should let him die,"

Doesn't sound like they wanted a fudge packer for a son.

Really can't blame them........ :cool:
 
It's barbaric and it's murder :mad:

It's murder to prevent someone from getting treatment for a treatable
condition and it's barbaric for any country to make homosexuality a punishable offense. It's barbaric to force a person to die of a hernia - an incredibly painful process that is totally treatable.




"I accuse the state," said Nkom, the most prominent of a small group of lawyers in Cameroon willing to defend suspects charged with violating Cameroon's anti-gay law. "If there had not been criminalization of homosexuality, he would not have gone to prison and his life would not be over. His life was finished as soon as he went to prison."

Cameroonian officials have been unapologetic about their enforcement of the anti-gay law, and have rejected recommendations from the United Nations Human Rights Council to protect sexual minorities from violence. Appearing before the council in September 2013, Anatole Nkou, Cameroon's ambassador to Geneva, testified that a prominent gay rights activist found tortured and killed last year died because of his "personal life," prompting outcry from international rights groups.

and yet, right next door, in Gabon, at least it's not a criminal offense to BE a homosexual even if you can't marry.

Also on Friday, six men in neighboring Gabon were released after being accused of taking part in a same-sex marriage ceremony last month. Officials who held them for one night decided not to bring charges against them after determining that no marriage had occurred, said prosecutor Sidonie Flore Ouwe.

Gabon is one of 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have not criminalized homosexual acts, according to Amnesty International. However, Ouwe said that a gay marriage ceremony would constitute obscenity and an affront to public order punishable by law.
 
hm.he died because of his FAMILY refusing the treatment - how is it possible - he was 34, not unconscious ( incarcerated hernia does not lead to loss of consciousness - at least at first) and was a prisoner.

How can the FAMILY have the power to decide who is going to be treated and for what?

shouldn't THIS be addressed FIRST as this is much wider net than the homosexuals or lesbians only.
 
That must have been one nasty hernia.

incarcerated hernia leads to the necrosis of the entrapped bowel and to peritonitis and sepsis and then death.
it is really a very cruel way to die.

and it is an easy operation to prevent it all.
 
He should have received medical attention for his hernia and then been allowed to complete the prison sentence. ... :cool:

that is what one would think.

no matter what the reason for incarceration - how can a family decide what is and what is not treatable for an adult, coherent and otherwise legally immune individual?

shouldn't Amnesty International address THIS issue FIRST?
 
hm.he died because of his FAMILY refusing the treatment - how is it possible - he was 34, not unconscious ( incarcerated hernia does not lead to loss of consciousness - at least at first) and was a prisoner.

How can the FAMILY have the power to decide who is going to be treated and for what?

shouldn't THIS be addressed FIRST as this is much wider net than the homosexuals or lesbians only.
The country is very poor and maybe the families of prisoners must pay for their medical procedures? ... :cool:
 
hm.he died because of his FAMILY refusing the treatment - how is it possible - he was 34, not unconscious ( incarcerated hernia does not lead to loss of consciousness - at least at first) and was a prisoner.

How can the FAMILY have the power to decide who is going to be treated and for what?

shouldn't THIS be addressed FIRST as this is much wider net than the homosexuals or lesbians only.
The country is very poor and maybe the families of prisoners must pay for their medical procedures? ... :cool:

maybe.

but it is much more important issue to be addressed by the Amnesty International, one would think :rolleyes:
 
According to this:

Jean-Claude Roger Mbede - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In November 2011, Nkom stated that Mbede had suffered malnutrition and sexual assault while in prison.[4] His appeal was scheduled for a hearing on 5 March 2012, but was delayed.[7] He was provisionally released on 16 July 2012.[8]

34 years old Mbede died on 10 January 2014 in his hometown Ngoumou after he left a hospital because he lacked money for continued medical care.[9]

Homophobia victim Roger Mbede dies in Cameroon | 76 CRIMES
During 16 months in prison, Mbede was the focus of an intense international push for his release, including campaigns by Amnesty International and All Out.

He won provisional release on July 16, 2012, for medical treatment of a hernia. He remained free afterward, but in ill health. Because he had become well-known in Cameroon as a homosexual, he usually remained in hiding for his own safety, friends said. For the same reason, he changed his residence three times, they said.

In late 2012, the Central Appeals Court refused to overturn the original lower-court decision that sentenced him to prison. His further appeal of that refusal was pending while he sought continued medical care.

He had one operation in July 2012, which did not cure him, and a second one in late 2013, which went badly, according to LGBT rights activist friends of his.
Roger Jean Claude Mbede is having a difficult time returning to a normal life after prison.on after prison for homosexuality.

He lacked money for continued medical care, his activist friends said, so he left the hospital and was taken to his family home in the village of Ngoumou, near Yaoundé. For the last several days he did not eat or drink. He died at about 7 p.m. today.

He was no criminal, just an ordinary person who happened to be homosexual. He didn't assault anyone, rob anyone, hurt anyone. It is likely the assaults he suffered in prison led to the hernia. He had the misfortune to be born into a society with barbaric attitudes and a family who would rather see him dead.
 
if he had complications after surgery and was released from prison a year and half ago - how is it connected to his homosexuality?

it is an example of the poor medical help, maybe an example of poverty, but not persecution for his homosexuality.

If LGBT group there was so concerned - why didn't they help him with MONEY to get appropriate medical help?
 
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I think it's tied to his homosexuality because that was why he was jailed in the first place - the article stated he was raped and assaulted there.

But - you do have a point, it is an indirect tie.
 
Same here..........but in his country it's a huge stigma on the entire family and they will be the ones who suffer because of his perverted behavior. ... :doubt:

Just an illustration of the stupidity rampant in that country.
 

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