CRM Activist Released on Appeal After Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

Published by JDC on Mar 18, 2023 at 06:07

CRM activist Alexis Kessoo Mbevo has been released after more than two years in Kondengui Central prison in Yaounde.

Cameroon Revival Movement CRM activists appealed and were acquitted on 16 March on grounds of revolution, rebellion, rallies and public demonstrations. Last year, he was sentenced to five years in prison by a military court in the first instance.

The release of Alexis Kesuo Mbebo for unproven facts has symbolic value for the MRC. The party has been working for months to obtain the release of his 62 activists who were arrested after the 2020 banned marches and given first-instance sentences by military courts. The case of Alexis Kessouo Mbevo is the first victory for Sylvain Souop, a collective that includes lawyers defending the cause of these activists who have been convicted in court.

“The Sylvain Souop Collective welcomes this decision and intends to use it in front of all judicial and non-judicial bodies to continue its quest for the release of the 61 people still deprived of their liberty.said Hippolyte Meli, who coordinates the collective’s activities.

The group rubbed hands last year when an appeals hearing began in a civil court.A group lawyer argued that military magistrates, like the CRM’s main leader, were unable to try civilians. and constantly challenged military tribunals. At the appeals court, lawyer Maurice Camuto, chairman of the MRC, was also in the class.