Herakles Farms, a US-based agribusiness, filed a defamation lawsuit against Mr. Nasako Besingi, a Cameroonian activist, in month/year for peacefully protesting against Herakles Farms’ grab of his ancestral land in Southwest Cameroon. If convicted he faces a maximum penalty of 6 months imprisonment and $4,000 in fines, simply for exercising his constitutional right to free speech.
Africa Faith and JUstice Network (AFJN) joins 19 other organizations which sent a request to three United Nations Rapporteurs to “investigate and intervene” in this “case of acts of repression and criminalization of local organizations and activists in Cameroon in the context of peaceful protest against Herakles Farms.” Click here to read AFJN’s petition and letter to Herakles Farms’ managing director, Mr. Patrick Jones.
By Jacques Bahati