Yaounde, Cameroon (AP) – Cameroon has criticized the media’s reporting on the killing of a prominent gay activist that drew statements of concern from the U.S., France, Britain and the U.N.
In the first official response to the killing of Eric Ohena Lembembe, government spokesman Issa Tchiroma said Friday that journalists aided by civil society groups “have launched attacks on our nation, dragging its image into the mud.”
Lembembe was found tortured and killed Monday, just weeks after he spoke out against the threat posed by “anti-gay thugs” in Cameroon, where gay sex is a criminal offense. One friend said the activist’s neck and feet looked broken and he was burned with an iron.
Tchiroma said the case was being investigated, but rights groups said previous investigations of anti-gay violence have not been thorough.
