Fundraising efforts from charity Project Not Alone has freed two lesbians from prison in Cameroon.
Project Not Alone raises money to pay fines, provide attorneys and deliver supplementary food for LGBTQIA+ prisoners in Cameroon and Nigeria who are serving time for violating the nations’ anti-homosexuality laws.
After six months without a trial, young imprisoned lesbian couple Yane and Hage were freed thanks to community donations and a grant from the Attitude Foundation.
The couple (identified by pseudonyms) had lived peacefully in their studio apartment in Ebolowa, Cameroon, until Yane rebuffed an advance from a neighbour.
In retaliation, the neighbour altered police who arrested the two women.
The couple was held at the police station for two days, then were referred to the public prosecutor’s office and then to prison.
As police investigated, they found love notes on the women’s phones. They were charged with violating Article 83 of Cameroon’s 2010 law on cybercrime and cybersecurity, which prohibits the use of telecommunication devices for arranging intimate same-sex encounters. The punishment for breaking these laws is a fine of up to $2500 AUD and/or a prison sentence of two to four years.
‘We cannot freely live our love’
A Cameroonian lawyer agreed to work with the couple pro bono, with donated funds going towards legal expenses such as filing fees, prison access fees and document copying charges.
With the donated funds and the time already served, Yane and Hage were released in August.
The couple are now living in another town in a house owned by family.
“Thank you for all your efforts,” Yane told Erasing 76 Crimes.
“We are starting a new life and it is not easy for us after this trauma.”
Hage added: “We especially feel a lot of gratitude for the support received from strangers. Cameroon is a very complex country where we cannot freely live our love. I ask you to continue your work and especially remove all these barriers that exist so that we are all fulfilled.”
“We have decided to live together even if the context is difficult in Cameroon.”
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