An Associated Press journalist was beaten and briefly detained in Yaounde, Cameroon, while reporting on Africans deported from the US.
The journalist, along with three others, was attempting to interview deportees when police confiscated their equipment and took them into custody. “It was an extremely stressful experience,” said freelance journalist Randy Joe Sa’ah, who was detained.
The deportees, including individuals from Ghana, DRC, Morocco, and other countries, had been granted withholding of removal status in the US, protecting them from deportation to countries where they fear persecution.
The US administration has approached several African governments about accepting deportees, sparking concerns for migrants’ safety.
Cameroon’s government has not disclosed its involvement in the US program.
