This article was posted by English PEN on July 11, 2014.
According to Enoh Meyomesse’s friends and family, the imprisoned poet and activist has once again been admitted to the prison hospital in the overcrowded Kondengui Central Prison in Yaoundé. We are currently awaiting further details of his condition. However, in May 2014 Meyomesse was moved to the prison hospital to be treated for malaria and amoebiasis, and we are seriously concerned that his condition may have deteriorated. We are calling on the Cameroonian authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally on humanitarian grounds.
Cameroonian poet Enoh Meyomesse has been imprisoned since November 2011, and is currently serving a seven-year sentence for supposed complicity in the theft and illegal sale of gold, charges which PEN believes to be politically motivated. It has now been 15 months since Meyomesse’s lawyers succeeded in having his case referred to a civil court for appeal. His appeal was expected to be heard on June 20, 2013 but the hearing was postponed. At least eleven further hearings–including the most recent hearing on 19 June at which the Head of the Political Section from the British Embassy was present–have been postponed due to various legal technicalities.
His next hearing is now scheduled to take place on Thursday July 17.
As a result of the numerous postponements and additional months in prison, funds to cover Meyomesse’s legal fees and daily needs – including food, medicine, family visits, and writing materials – are now dwindling. English PEN has published a crowd-sourced translation of his prison poetry, in order to raise funds for him and his family, and greater awareness of his case. Show your support for Meyomesse – buy your copy today.
For more information on Meyomesse’s case, please see the most recent PEN International case list.
For details on how to send appeals for Meyomesse, please see PEN International’s Rapid Action.