Cameroon police arrest and torture 25 men for being gay

Police in Cameroon have arrested 25 men on suspicion of being gay.

Homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon, with those convicted of homosexuality facing up to five years in prison.

The arrests were made in the early hours of Saturday morning, as police raided institutions in the capital city of Yaoundé which are known to be popular with the local gay community.

(ALEXIS HUGUET/AFP/Getty)

The officers broke the door down at Le Mistral, a cabaret, after failing in their attempts to convince staff that they were simply customers trying to get into the locked venue.

One of the seven people arrested at the cabaret – which included a dancer, a waiter and security guard – said: “We informed them that the tavern was already closed, but they forced the door open.

“Then they took us [to jail] without any reason,” he added, according to news site Erasing 76 Crimes.

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya (LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty)

The raid on the bar had echoes of a similar incident in 2016, when dozens of men were reportedly arrested in Mistral on suspicion of homosexuality after being trapped inside by officers.

After police carried out the raid on Saturday, they immediately moved on to a cinema often used by gay people in the area, arresting 18 moviegoers.

The 25 men who were arrested were then taken to the police station.

(ALEXIS HUGUET/AFP/Getty)

Police Commander Parfait Nana said that two people had been released because they were “witnesses.”

He promised: “The remaining 23 will be interrogated; conclusions will be reached at the close of the investigations.