Help needed for gay prisoner; his lawyer faces death threats | 76 CRIMES

Cornelius Fonya, 35, of Limbe, Cameroon, was disowned by his family after his conviction on a homosexuality charge in a trial marred by improprieties.

Providing Fonya with adequate legal representation has been difficult, because his attorney received numerous death threats merely for having an LGBTI client. Attorney Walter Atoh (known in Cameroon as Barrister Atoh Walter M. Tchemi) — one of the few lawyers in Cameroon willing to represent LGBTI defendants — fled to London for safety, but will soon return to Cameroon to represent Fonya.

He is appealing the conviction on the basis of procedural irregularities that marred the trial. Those irregularities included the admission of medical/legal documents that were presented by prosecution witnesses but had never introduced during police investigations.
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Atoh’s defense of Fonya has been disrupted by death threats. Anonymous phone calls from people with disguised voices threatened to kill him and his family if Atoh did not stop representing LGBTI people.

“We will eliminate you and your entire family since you have decided to remain stoic and adamant [in] defending or supporting abominable acts,” said one caller.

In March 2015, faced with continuing death threats, Atoh and his wife left their home and started sleeping in a hotel room.  She left Cameroon for London in March. Atoh joined her in August. Despite the risk, Atoh vows to return to Cameroon to pursue the case.

“Notwithstanding the murder threats against me and my family, I will be going back to Cameroon to continue with my crusade as an LGBTI lawyer,” Atoh said.

Help needed for gay prisoner; his lawyer faces death threats | 76 CRIMES