Cameroon: Journalist deportation halted

5 Aug 2010

A Cameroonian journalist who was due to have been deported from the United Kingdom on Monday (2 August 2010) has been granted a last-minute temporary reprieve. News website allmediascotland reported on Tuesday that the forced deportation of Charles Atangana had been deferred.

A hearing that will determine his future has yet to be set, according to the report. The National Union of Journalists held a demonstration in Glasgow on Monday to protest against his removal.

Atangana has lived in the city since 2004, when he fled Cameroon after being harassed, detained and tortured by government forces as a result of his work as an investigative journalist. His asylum claim was turned down by the UK and he is now being held in a detention centre.

The International Federation of Journalists warned that he will be at serious risk if forced to return to Cameroon.

Source: Panos London

Panos London promotes the participation of poor and marginalised people in national and international development debates through media and communication projects. It is part of the worldwide Panos Network of independent institutes working to ensure that information is used more effectively to foster debate, pluralism and democracy.

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