Missing Cameroonian activist discovered in prison with indications of torture, according to a rights organization

Human Rights Watch reported on Tuesday that a social media activist and government critic from Cameroon who vanished last month has been found with evidence of torture in a security cell of the military court in the country’s capital, Yaoundé.

According to the activist’s attorneys, Steve Akam was extrajudicially sent back to Cameroon from Gabon, where he had been residing for the previous ten years. Upon gaining access to him when he was being held in Yaoundé, the international rights group reported that they discovered he was severely visually impaired and largely paralyzed.

The last footage of Akam, a vocal opponent of President Paul Biya’s regime, that went viral on the internet showed him handcuffed and surrounded by Cameroonian police close to the Gabon border.

He is more well-known on TikTok thanks to his over 30,000-follower social media account, Ramon Cotta. In a new film, he charges Biya of waging war in the anglophone areas of Cameroon to hold onto power.

Human Rights Watch’s senior Sahel researcher Ilaria Allegrozzi stated that Akam “may already have lost his sight and ability to walk properly as a result of torture, so prompt action is immediately needed”.

She urged Cameroon to treat the injured and look into any indications of abuse. A request for comment from the Cameroonian administration was not answered right away.