Insights into the realities of police custody and remand in custody in Cameroon

Abstract

In practice, police custody and remand in custody are measures that deprive individuals of liberty and human dignity. They are often a means of humiliation and dehumanisation of people; a method that is organised by institutions and actors of a repressive system. Through desktop research, this paper identifies protections that persons in police custody and those remanded in custody have under Cameroonian law. It exposes that, in practice, there is minimal compliance with the state’s obligation – the obligation to respect, protect, and fulfil the rights of persons held in police custody and those detained – under the Cameroonian and international law. This paper aims at making Cameroonians aware of their rights in all circumstances and urging them to defend the rights through available legal actions.