A federal grand jury in Baltimore has returned an indictment charging 38-year-old Eric Tataw, a Cameroonian national residing in Maryland, United States.
Also known as “the Garri Master,”; Tataw, is charged with conspiring to provide material support to armed separatist militias in Cameroon and threatening violence against civilians.
Also charged with four counts of interstate communication of a threat to harm, the resident of Gaithersburg, Maryland, made his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson on Friday.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on the material support count and five years in prison on each count of communication of a threat to harm.
Several armed and violent secessionist groups in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon are fighting to form a new country called “Ambazonia.”;
The fighters, commonly called “Amba Boys,” have been attacking the the military and civilians in an attempt to force the government into allowing these regions to secede.
Beginning in April 2018, according to the indictment, Tataw and his collaborators sought to raise funds for the Amba Boys to finance violent attacks.
The defendant allegedly called for the murder and kidnapping of civilians, as well as the destruction of public, educational, and cultural property in Cameroon.
Tataw and his co-conspirators are further accused of directing the maiming of Cameroonians by severing their limbs, a practice Tataw called “Garriing.”;
He allegedly used the phrase “small Garri”; to refer to removing fingers or other small appendages and the phrase “large Garri”; to refer to removing large limbs or killing people.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said the indictment represents the commitment to punish human rights violators who direct brutal political violence and fundraise for armed militias.
Sue J. Bai, Head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, assured that the department will continue to hold accountable those who aim to turn American soil into a staging ground for political violence abroad.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland noted that Tataw and his co-conspirators masterminded and financially supported a vcious scheme to overthrow a foreign government.
The prosecutor said “they must pay the price” for demonstrating a total disregard for human life and perpetrating “an unthinkable level of violence” while instilling fear in victims to advance their political agenda.
