Civil parties seek to join Cameroon court-martial

Civil parties have asked to join the court-martial of three Anglophone civilians in Cameroon, according to this Radio France Internationale account. Excerpt:

The defence was "ambushed" during Thursday afternoon's hearing, said lawyer Manyi Becky Orock. Three lawyers representing civil parties came before the military tribunal in Yaoundé claiming damages against the accused. 

"They're talking about someone who was wounded," said Orock. "Who is that person, who are those who are trying to complain that they have suffered injury during this Anglophone crisis?" she added. 

The defence objected to the civil parties being brought before the court. Orock said lawyers for the accused argued that the court should have been provided with a letter from the head of the Cameroon Bar Association in order to follow proper legal procedure before lawyers for civil parties could appear in court. Furthermore, it was not clear who the civil parties are, according to Orock.

"They cannot be representing people that we have not seen before the court, there were no civil parties before the court, how could they say they were representing the civil parties," the lawyer said.