US writer detained in Cameroon meets with lawyer

A colleague of a Cameroonian-American writer and professor detained in the Central African nation says the man has met with a lawyer.

PEN America and others have reported that Patrice Nganang (GAH’-nahn) was detained Thursday as he tried to leave Cameroon after criticizing the government.

Robert Harvey of Stony Brook University says he has been corresponding via email with Nganang’s wife, who is currently in Zimbabwe.

Nganang went missing from the airport in Douala. He is a dual U.S. citizen and a professor at Stony Brook University in New York.

Cameroon President Paul Biya, in power since 1982, has criticized what he calls secessionists among the country’s English-speaking minority, who have complained about discrimination.