Gov’t Hurled to Court Over Internet Shutdown
The Cameroonian government has been hurled before the
country’s top court over the imposition of an internet blackout on the restive
Anglophone regions, according to confirmed reports.
Two
internet freedom groups, ‘Access Now and Internet Sans Frontieres (ISF)” on 19
January 2018, entered a lawsuit “challenging a government-ordered shutdown on
internet in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions last year.
“We are
providing expert advice on requirements under international human rights law
and urging the court to end the shutdowns for good, a statement by Access Now
said, adding that “Cameroon’s courts have the opportunity to set a global
precedent in favor of human rights and the rule of law.”
The two
groups come under the banner of KeepItOn coalition and have been documenting
the cost of internet shutdowns. They are joining two earlier actions instituted
in April 2017 seeking to have judicial pronouncement on the shutdown.
According
to the suit, the Cameroon government, the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications and the Cameroon Telecommunications (CAMTEL) are listed as
respondents. There are five petitioners including the Global Conscience
Initiative and Global Links.
The
government on 30 September 2017 placed restrictions on access to social media
networks like Facebook, Twitter and whatsapp.
This
was despite a government statement saying that no such plans were to be
implemented. Activists doing a count say Thursday 25 January 2018 is the 118th
day of shutdown.
30
September 2017 was the eve of a symbolic declaration of independence by the two
Anglophone regions under the Ambazonia State banner. At the time a heavy
security deployment across the regions was also in place, subsequent clashes
between separatists and security forces led to deaths, injuries and mass
arrests.
It was,
however, not the first such disruption in the Central African nation, an
earlier one was a total blackout in the northwest and southwest regions. It was
only lifted in April 2017 after over three months.
“By
declaring the government’s shutdown order as discriminatory, unnecessary and a
disproportionate decree issued under flawed procedures, the court can provide
remedy to Cameroonians and light a path for victims of shutdowns elsewhere,”
said Julie Owono, CEO of Internet Sans Frontieres
She
added: “A decision by Cameroon’s Constitutional Court to reaffirm the
protection of Human Rights, and rule on the illegality of shutdowns, would send
a historic and powerful signal to other countries of the Central Africa
region.”
Between
2016 and 2017, most countries in the region arbitrarily used internet shutdowns
for political reasons.
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