Letter from Dorgelesse

To the supporters at Amnesty International,  

Words fail me when I try to describe what the campaign has done for me. The good it did, for me and my family… it brought me such immense joy. I just want to say thank you and to ask God to continue to bless Amnesty and its supporters. Please don't be discouraged. Because it did us such good, I can't tell you. I don't have the words – except thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

You reached out to us at the point when we most needed it. My son was sick, my mother was sick. My being in prison had had such an impact on my mum, she was weakened by it. This campaign gave her strength. It encouraged all of us. So I don't know how to thank Amnesty enough.  

As for further support for my case… I will agree with any decision that Amnesty makes in terms of what to do next. You could write to the judges to ask them to ensure the appeal process is no longer delayed, write to the Ministry of Justice, tweet the President of the Republic. Just please keep going.

On 18 January, the tribunal rejected our request for an appeal of the habeas corpus decision. They said that we appealed too late, that we paid the fees for an appeal late. But on February 15, they actually accepted the appeal of my conviction in 2020 – at last! And now the arguments will be presented on 21 March. So there is some hope! We have to hope.

I'm just so tired of this place, tired of seeing other prisoners get out… There are days when I wake up and just cry. When I know people are paying attention to my case, I can be strong, I feel strong. But when I let go, I feel a huge sadness. It's hard – life in prison is hard. If you haven't been in prison you can't understand. It's like torture.  

If you can keep taking action for me, I'd be grateful. May God continue to bless and watch over Amnesty.  

Dorgelesse​

Dorgelesse has been away from her son and her family for over three years now. But the pressure on the Cameroon government seems to be working. Please donate today and help us to campaign for Dorgelesse's freedom.