Overview
- Four journalists and a lawyer were held by Cameroonian police on Feb. 17 outside a Yaoundé state compound housing migrants deported from the United States.
- An Associated Press reporter said he was struck during questioning, and police seized phones, cameras, and laptops before releasing the group without announced charges.
- Reporting identifies at least 17 non‑Cameroonian deportees from nine African countries held at the compound after January and February flights organized by U.S. authorities.
- Many deportees had U.S. court protections such as withholding of removal, and several told reporters they felt pressured to return to their home countries or face indefinite detention in Cameroon.
- Human Rights Watch says the deportees are being arbitrarily detained under a secret arrangement and warns of refoulement risks, while U.S. and Cameroonian officials have not publicly explained the program.