Based on interviews with survivors of rape, administrative, judicial, traditional, and religious authorities, health care professionals, diplomats, civil society representatives, the report analyses the numerous obstacles to effective care for victims of rape, forensic examination, psychological support, and access to justice in Guinea. For many survivors, justice remains unattainable.   

Victims and their families have repeatedly told us that the horrendous sexual violence they experienced is compounded by societal judgement, but silence is starting to break on rape cases and civil society is moving to denounce sexual violence.” 

Samira Daoud, Amnesty International's Regional Director for West and Central Africa. 

“Despite recent efforts by the authorities to tackle the issue of sexual violence, many remains to be done in terms of information, prevention, access to care and justice to respect Guinea’s obligations under international and regional human rights laws.” 

In 2021, the Office for the Protection of Gender, Children and Morals (Oprogem) and the Special Brigade for the Protection of Vulnerable Persons (BSPPV) – specialized units within the police and the gendarmerie- dealt with more than 400 cases of rape, and most of the victims were minors, some of whom are under 13.  This report shows that the real figures of rape cases are undoubtedly higher, considering notably the practice of extrajudicial settlement and the higher number of cases treated in medical centres.  

Social stigmatization 

Victims of sexual violence and their families often face intense judgement in their communities amid widespread social stigmatization.  

The mother of a girl who said she was raped told Amnesty International about the stigma her child experienced:  

“[…] When we went to the hospital, one of the doctors said: ‘This is the little girl who was raped’. It hurts. Everywhere she goes, people point at her. She is always locked up in the house. She doesn’t go out; she hardly communicates with people. She wants to go back to school but it’s not possible.” 

More efforts should be done by the authorities to develop awareness and education campaigns to address the underlying social and cultural attitudes that discriminate against women and facilitate and perpetuate violence against them. These campaigns should promote zero tolerance for violence against women, debunk harmful gender stereotypes and myths associated with rape, eliminate the stigma associated with women victims of violence, and encourage victims to seek redress.  

Urgent need to improve access to care, sexual and reproductive rights and psychological support 

Guinea lacks an effective toll-free number enabling victims to report sexual violence and to receive medical and legal advice. And despite some initiatives like the creation of one-stop centres offering care and legal support, the availability, quality, and accessibility of the health system must be strengthened for victims, often of modest economic status. Many survivors are unable to access effective medical and psychological care or realise their right to sexual and reproductive health. Most medical specialist practice in the capital city Conakry and the cost of care can sometimes prevent victims from seeking treatment.  

A doctor said to Amnesty International: “We can provide free consultations and reports. But if people have complications that require surgery, or infectious complications that require medication, we can’t do that for free.” 

“The social stigma associated with rape in Guinea, which often leads to not reporting the crime and not filing complaints, leaves survivors of these atrocities without access to medical care and psychosocial support as well as legal aid to access justice and redress”, said Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, IPPFAR Regional Director.  

“Gender based violence in all its forms is recognised as a human rights violation by the international human rights framework and jurisprudence. Gender inequality, power imbalance and lack of respect for human rights are often the root causes of such heinous acts and prevents survivors from accessing and enjoying their full sexual and reproductive health and rights. As human rights defenders, we must all take a stand and put a stop to these inexcusable acts”, added Petrus-Barry. 

Accessing justice is an obstacle course for victims 

Despite achieving real progress by adjusting legal frameworks in recent years and developing specialized police and gendarmerie units to respond to sexual violence cases, gaining access to justice in Guinea remains a challenging obstacle course for victims of sexual violence, while perpetrators often enjoy impunity. Customary authorities have been able to push for out of court settlements leading to prosecutions being dropped, which is against the law and against the rights of the survivors. 

Although there is lack of forensic specialists and the presentation of a medico-legal certificate is not a legal condition for filing a complaint, in practice it is often required. And even when this document is not required by the police or the gendarmerie, its absence becomes a major obstacle to a possible conviction in court.  

Judicial investigations are often hampered by a lack of resources and training in addressing and investigating sexual violence, which negatively impacts victims’ quest for justice. In the absence of effective free legal assistance for those unable to afford a lawyer, only NGOs are able to provide legal support.  

Similarly, Guinea’s justice system also lacks resources. The majority of judges, most of whom are men, work in poor conditions. The report of rapes survivors highlights that some of them perpetuate patriarchal stereotypes while handling sexual violence cases. 

Furthermore, the fact that the survivors of the 28 September 2009 massacre had to wait 13 years to finally hope for justice and reparation was a powerful symbol of impunity; while the defence and security forces killed more than 150 demonstrators and committed sexual crimes against more than 100 women in a stadium in Conakry that day.   

To strengthen their response to sexual violence, the Guinean authorities must urgently pass a comprehensive law on gender-based violence, among other recommendations highlighted in the report to strengthen the capacity of the judiciary, police and other law enforcement authorities, and social and health workers, to ensure full implementation of legal provisions aimed at addressing violence against women.   

Guinean authorities promised that they would fight gender-based violence and rape.  We urge them to take concrete steps to strengthen state efforts to prevent sexual violence, and guarantee care and justice for survivors,”

Samira Daoud

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” On Monday 8 August the Guinean transitional authorities decided to dissolve the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), which they describe as a “de facto movement” and accuse it of having “always been known for violence against people, the degradation and destruction of public and private property, and acts of incitement to hatred […]”. Amnesty International is surprised by these accusations as it has always monitored and documented recent FNDC demonstrations, which were peaceful in nature. However, it does note the excessive use of force and repression during these demonstrations.

This dissolution of the FNDC is a serious infringement of the freedoms of association and peaceful assembly recognised by the Guinean Constitution. The FNDC has played a key role in promoting and advancing human rights in Guinea. Amnesty International calls on the authorities to reinstate the FNDC and to guarantee freedom of expression and association, which are rights enshrined in international human rights treaties and conventions that Guinea has ratified, as well as in the Transitional Charter.

Habibatou Gologo, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's West and Central Africa office

“This decision comes at a time when Mohamed Bangoura, editor of the news website “Mosaïque”, was summoned to the premises of the military intelligence directorate of the army headquarters last weekend following the publication of an article incriminating the army in the disappearance of a truck containing painkillers in a camp. At the same time, another journalist, Mamoudou Boulère Diallo of Espace TV, was physically attacked by a military team. These actions constitute a step backwards for press freedom and freedom of expression.

“Amnesty International calls on the Guinean authorities to immediately end disproportionate restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association and to respect the right of the Guinean people and civil society to freely express their views, including through the media”.

Further information

The FNDC Movement (National Front for the Defence of the Constitution) is a coalition of civil society organisations and political parties that initiated a series of demonstrations in October 2019 in Guinea to protest against the amendment or adoption of a new Constitution. Since then, the FNDC has been at the heart of most of the demonstrations to denounce several human rights violations, the latest of which dates back to the end of July, despite being banned by the authorities. Challenging this dissolution, the FNDC is again planning demonstrations for 17 August 2022. There is a high risk that this will be banned, as the authorities had decided in May 2022 to ban all demonstrations in the streets and public places.   

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The Guinean authorities must put a stop to this excessive use of force when responding to large-scale demonstrations, including the one that took place on Thursday 28 July when five people lost their lives. The organization is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily arrested and the dropping of charges against them.”  

Fabien Offner, researcher in Amnesty International's West and Central Africa office

“According to testimonies collected and documented by Amnesty International, the police fired live ammunition at demonstrators as they protested in the streets of Conakry. Amnesty International would remind the authorities that, under international law, the use of force in policing must be strictly necessary and proportional, and that the use of firearms is prohibited unless there is imminent threat of death or serious injury.

“The authorities must furthermore conduct effective, independent and impartial investigations into the suspected cases of gunshot victims and, upon completion of these investigations, prosecute and try those suspected through fair trials in competent, independent, and impartial courts.”

Background

On 28 July, FNDC, a civil society organization convened a demonstration to denounce the unilateral way in which the transition was being managed. Violence broke out between police and demonstrators. According to a statement from the authorities, five people died and several more were arrested, including two members of the FNDC and a leader of the UFR political party.

On 29 July, legal proceedings were commenced against Oumar Sylla alias Foniké Menguè, Ibrahima Diallo et Saikou Yaya Barry for illegal protest, destruction of public and private buildings, incitement of a crowd, assault and battery, obstruction of freedom of movement and complicity, followed by their arrest on the night of 30-31 July. They are currently being held in Conakry civil prison.

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They must also increase their efforts to fight sexual violence by strengthening prevention, supporting access to justice for survivors and adopting a special law on violence against women. Six girls aged between three and 16, and a woman were sexually assaulted, and some were raped between 25 November and 2 December 2021. Two of the girls have died as a result of the violence.

Rape is all too commonplace in Guinea. Authorities should urgently strengthen their efforts to prevent and combat sexual violence in Guinea.

Samira Daoud, Amnesty International West and Central Africa director.

Rape of girls

On 2 December 2021, the Office for the Protection of Gender, Childhood and Morals (OPROGEM in French) presented a 24-year-old man charged with the rape of a three-year-old girl in the district of Gbessia in the capital Conakry. On 30 November another three-year-old girl was raped in Batè-Nafadji in the eastern region of Kankan. On 27 November, a 12-year-old girl was raped by two men on her way home in the town of Sanoun. This came just a day after the death of another 12-year-old girl in the north-eastern town of Siguiri.
In the urban commune of Labé, west-central region of Guinea, a three-year-old girl was gang raped on 26 November.

Local organization, “Agir pour le Droit Féminin”, which met with the three-year-old girl’s parents on 7 December, told the organizations that she was abducted when going to buy candy not far from the family home. She was then taken to an uninhabited house and sexually assaulted until she died.

The girl’s father who met with the prosecutor confirmed his demand for justice for his daughter. One of the alleged perpetrator’s father requested forgiveness from the girl’s family but they refused.

The rapes of girls followed the rape of a woman on 25 November while she was in a hospital in the north-western town of Kamsar for a surgery. The hospital management announced three days later they had “arrested the alleged perpetrator” -who is an external service provider- and taken him to the gendarmerie.

The same day, a 16-year-old girl was also raped by several men in Kankan.

The authorities must ensure thorough and impartial investigations of these rape cases without delay and anyone found guilty must be brought to justice,

Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, IPPF Africa Regional Director.

“Survivors must receive access to medical care and psychosocial support as well as legal aid to access justice and redress.”

More than 331 rape cases reported since the beginning of the year

Since the beginning of the year, OPROGEM and the Special Brigade for the Protection of Vulnerable Persons (BSPPV in French) have already dealt with 331 rape cases. In 2020 alone, they dealt with 374 cases, a number which reflects only the tip of the iceberg according to NGOs working on sexual violence survivors, journalists, police and gendarmerie.

This is due to the stigma associated with rape in Guinea, which often leads to not reporting the crime and not filing complaints, and often such cases are handled through mediation and out-of-court settlements between the victims or their families and the alleged perpetrators or their families.

The recent rape cases follow another case that sparked a strong public reaction across the country last month. M’Mah Sylla, a 25-year-old woman, was allegedly raped by doctors at a non-licensed clinic in Conakry, where she went for treatment. She got pregnant as a result, and the same perpetrators raped her again when she returned to the clinic to seek an abortion. The rape caused injuries that could not be healed despite seven surgeries. The victim died on 20 November in Tunis (Tunisia) where she was medically evacuated following a government intervention.

Following M’Mah Sylla’s death, women staged protests on 22, 24 and 30 November in the towns of Labé, Kindia and N’Zérékoré, demanding justice for all victims of rape. On 21 November, the Ministry of Justice said three of the four alleged perpetrators of M’Mah Sylla’s rape had been detained in Conakry prison. The government also presented its condolences to her family on behalf of the head of state.

Activists spoke out on the surge in rape cases.

Djenab Boiro of “Mon Enfant, Ma vie” a local organization, told Amnesty International during a meeting in Conakry:
“Even dead, M’Mah Sylla deserves justice. I am convinced that the day the perpetrators will be sentenced to the punishment they deserve, her soul will finally rest in peace. We have had too many cases like M’Mah Sylla’s and we hope and dream of not having any more.”

“Authorities have taken some steps in the right direction in recent years which we welcome, such as the creation in 2020 of a special unit within the gendarmerie to fight sexual violence. In addition, local women’s rights organizations have played and continue to play a major role in speaking up against sexual violence, together with some media,” said Samira Daoud.

“Despite this situation, the persistence of rape cases, especially of girls, calls for much greater efforts to raise awareness among the public to prevent sexual violence, to protect the survivors, and ensure their timely access to justice and reparations as well as to bring perpetrators to account. This includes but is not limited to the adoption of a special law on violence against women, as recommended by the CEDAW Committee,” concluded Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry.

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(Conakry, September 27, 2021) – The trial of suspects in the massacre of more than 150 people and the rape of dozens of women in a Guinea stadium on 28 September 2009 should begin as soon as possible, six human rights groups said today.

Twelve years later, victims and their families should not have to wait any longer for justice to finally be delivered.

As Guinea embarks on a political transition process after the 5 September 2021 coup, the opening of this trial would send a strong signal that the authorities are willing to put respect for human rights and the fight against impunity at the center of their priorities.

The groups are the Association of Victims, Relatives and Friends of September 28, 2009 (AVIPA), Equal Rights for All (MDT), the Guinean Human Rights Organization (OGDH), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.

Although 12 years have gone by, the need for justice remains as strong as ever for the survivors of the massacre and victims’ families. Just one year ago, the six groups had denounced the delays and time wasted in organizing the trial. The wait has become unbearable for the survivors and victims’ families, the groups said, given that the investigation phase concluded in late 2017.

The Guinean government has promised several times to begin the trial as soon as possible, and no later than June 2020. The organizations remain concerned by an evident lack of will to complete preparations for this trial in Guinea.

In recent months, the steering committee overseeing the preparations for the trial, made up of government officials and international partners, had resumed its work and adopted a road map. Construction had progressed at Conakry’s Court of Appeal, where the trial is to take place, and a training session for judges was planned by the French government. However, despite these efforts, no trial date has yet been set.

Given the deteriorating health of the survivors, we, together with the Association of Victims, Relatives and Friends of 28 September 2009, are calling for this year to be the last commemoration before justice is done.

Aissatou Diallo, a survivor of the 28 September events

“It is urgent for the trial to be held and reparations awarded before all the victims die.”

The investigation by Guinean judges began in February 2010. More than 13 suspects were charged, 11 of whom were sent for trial. Among them is Moussa Dadis Camara, the former leader of the National Council for Democracy and Development junta that ruled Guinea in September 2009, who is living in exile in Burkina Faso. Some of the suspects who have been charged held influential positions until the recent coup, including Moussa Tiegboro Camara, who was in charge of fighting drug trafficking and organized crime.

The organizations are closely following Guinea’s period of political transition after the National Committee for Reconciliation and Development (Comité national du rassemblement et du développement, CNRD) took power on 5 September 2021, and reiterated their call for the respect of human rights and fundamental liberties of all Guineans.

As the CNRD leader, Mamady Doumbouya, stated that “justice will be the compass guiding every Guinean citizen,” the fight against impunity should be at the heart of the authorities’ actions, the groups said.

“It is more than urgent for Guinea to put an end to the cycle of impunity that has deeply marked the country’s history for more than 60 years,” the groups said.

“We remind the authorities that international law requires states to provide effective remedies to victims of human rights violations and that any lack of justice or the adoption of an amnesty for serious crimes is incompatible with these requirements.”

It is also essential for the new authorities to guarantee the protection of human rights defenders and activists who have suffered numerous violations of their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly for years.

The groups added

“The new authorities should make justice a prerequisite of their actions.”

The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened a preliminary examination of the situation in Guinea in October 2009. Designed as a court of last resort for the most serious crimes, the ICC steps in when national courts are unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute such cases.

In its latest report, the ICC had expressed its disappointment that “the trial has not yet started and no timeline or action plan for the opening of the trial has been communicated by the Government of Guinea.” The ICC had indicated that “the Guinean authorities must demonstrate, in the coming months, their will and ability to combat impunity and to prevent renewed cycles of violence.”

Guinea’s partners, particularly the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, the European Union, the ICC, and the United Nations should pay increased attention to the current situation in the country and strengthen their actions and support, on the one hand, for the September 28 trial to be organized as soon as possible, and on the other, for the new authorities in Guinea to respect human rights.

Background

Shortly before noon on 28 September 2009, several hundred members of Guinea’s security forces opened fire on tens of thousands of people who had gathered peacefully at the 28 September stadium in Conakry for a march against Dadis Camara’s intention to run for president. The security forces also individually or gang raped more than 100 women and sexually assaulted some of them with objects such as batons or bayonets, during or soon after the events. The security forces killed more than 150 people and wounded hundreds of others.

The security forces then organized a cover-up operation, sealing off all the entrances to the stadium and morgues and removing the bodies to bury them in mass graves. Many of the graves have yet to be identified.

After the investigation was completed, in April 2018, the then-justice minister, Cheick Sako, set up a steering committee to organize the trial. It set Conakry’s Court of Appeal as the location.

In January 2020, justice minister Mohammed Lamine Fofana announced to the United Nations his government’s “unequivocal” support for opening the trial. Despite his announcement that proceedings would begin in June, following completion of construction on the courtroom facility, the trial did not move forward during this past year.

In June, Mory Doumbouya was appointed justice minister. Minister Doumbouya said that he supported the trial, but that the judiciary was responsible for organizing it.

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This announcement is made public as the organization remembers him with great fondness on the anniversary of his passing on 25 May 2018. Following a call for applications issued two months ago, the selection committee received a total of 274 applications. Four candidates – two women and two men – were chosen as the recipients of the first edition of Gaëtan Mootoo Human Rights Defender Fellowship.

Gaetan’s unrelenting pursuit of justice saw him achieve human rights victories where others might have given up. His deep compassion for the individuals whose freedom he sought to secure, and his unwavering dedication and humility, distinguish him as a human rights champion we can all aspire to become.

Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“Gaetan’s unrelenting pursuit of justice saw him achieve human rights victories where others might have given up. His deep compassion for the individuals whose freedom he sought to secure, and his unwavering dedication and humility, distinguish him as a human rights champion we can all aspire to become. Through his work as a dogged human rights investigator, he changed the lives of untold numbers of people around the world,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“His loss both in the human rights world and as a dear friend is so keenly felt, and together with his family, we honour his memory and his enormous legacy by giving the opportunity to others to follow in his footsteps in demanding a fairer world. I’m delighted to congratulate the successful applicants.”

Through the Gaetan Mootoo Fellowship, Tathi Yende Viviane (Cameroon), Charlin Ulderel Kinouanii Ntnondele (Republic of Congo), Alphonsine Demba (Sénégal), and Faithe Kouassi Sylvain (Côte d’Ivoire) will be sponsored to attend the online René Cassin Foundation International Institute for Human Rights Summer School which will take place from 5-24 July 2021. The online course will focus on international human rights law and international criminal and humanitarian law.

The four awardees, aged between 29 and 31 years, have already embarked on their human rights paths in their respective countries. They have been inspired to follow in Gaëtan’s footsteps and are working to bring justice to their respective communities.  

“The fellowship is an opportunity for me to set up a strong network of human rights defenders. It will also allow me to learn to better practice my passion, which is the defence of human rights in my community,” said Tathi Yende Viviane from Cameroon.

Republic of Congo’s civil society activist Charlin Ulderel Kinouanii Ntnondele’s said his commitment is motivated by the deprivation of his right to education during a five year armed conflict in his country.

“That is why it is necessary for me to attend such a course, which will help me better stand up for human rights and the consolidation of democracy in my country,” he said.Senegalese citizen Alphonsine Demba whose work focuses on women’s and children’s rights found the opportunity of the fellowship helped deepen her knowledge of human rights.

“In the future, I plan to use the knowledge gained during the course to join a large human rights organization and work to better stand up for human rights and campaign for the effective implementation of conventions signed and ratified by our countries,’’ she said.

For his part, young Ivorian human rights defender Sylvain Kouassi Faithe said he will use the training to better defend the rights of minority groups and prevent human rights violations in the central region of the country where he lives.

Gaëtan’s human rights research covered many parts of West and Central Africa – Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. His meticulous findings and careful analysis led to the release of many prisoners of conscience, helped secure justice and reparations for many victims, and assisted many affected communities in their processes of recovery after human rights abuses.

“Standing up against human rights violations is more and more challenging as the world around us rapidly transforms and sources of repression mutate. We must keep up with the pace of change, address the issues of today but be astute, adaptive and engaging too so that we also defend human rights for the future,” said Agnes Callamard.

“We must foster and equip young activists and young leaders now. We must share knowledge, exchange and collaborate with them to help empower their action in their human rights realities. And we must remove old barriers and open new doors so that their strength, innovation and vision drive the global human rights movement today and tomorrow. This bursary is an important step towards that human rights reality.”

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In the past two months, four people, including three supporters of the opposition Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) have died in pre-trial detention in Conakry’s main prison. They were arrested in connection with protests in March 2020 against a referendum to change the constitution, and in October 2020 against the results of the presidential election which gave Alpha Condé a third term in office.

These people died while being held in prisons that are notorious for squalid, abusive conditions that often result in death, where the international rules of law on the treatment of detainees are ignored.

Fabien Offner, Amnesty International West Africa researcher.

“These people died while being held in prisons that are notorious for squalid, abusive conditions that often result in death, where the international rules of law on the treatment of detainees are ignored,” said Fabien Offner, Amnesty International West Africa researcher.

“By refusing to thoroughly investigate these deaths and authorizing the release or hospitalization of sick detainees only when their cases are desperate, the authorities show a deep contempt for human life. The Guinean authorities must shed light on the circumstances of these deaths in detention and urgently improve conditions of detention.”

“I was never told my husband was sick’’

Mamadou Oury Barry, who had been in custody since 5 August for “assault and battery”, died in prison on 16 January 2021. According to the Ministry of Justice, “he died a natural death linked to a bowel obstruction and anaemia in the emergency department of Ignace Deen Hospital”.Barry told one of his relatives on 14 January that he had stomachache.

Despite arriving at the prison with food and medicine, the relative was turned away. “When I arrived at the prison, I was told that I could not enter with the medicine. In the early afternoon of 21 January, I was told he was seriously ill. When I went again to the prison, I was informed of his death,” the relative told Amnesty International.

As of 29 January 2021, Barry’s family had still been unable to recover the body, despite lodging a request for it 10 days earlier with the prosecutor at Dixinn Court.

Amnesty International

Roger Bamba, a member of the UFDG’s national youth council, died in detention on 16 December 2020 “from illness”, according to the Justice ministry. He was arrested on 6 September 2020 at the National Assembly where he was working as parliamentary assistant, and was sent to prison four days later, charged with “producing, disseminating statements likely to disturb public security”.

“I was never told that he was sick… Every time I went to the prison to visit him, I showed my authorization document, but I was always banned from meeting him. They said political prisoners cannot be visited. I only got to see him once, on 23 November, and he was fine that day. I was never able to see him before 16 December. When I got there it was too late,” Roger Bamba’s wife told Amnesty International.

Another detainee, 25-year-old Mamadou Lamarana Diallo, died on 5 December 2020 after being arrested on 2 April 2020 in Conakry, during the unrest following the disputed 22 March referendum.

“After his arrest we did not see Mamadou Lamarana Diallo until 4 December,” said one of his relatives. Diallo died a few hours after being brought almost dying to his relatives by members of the defense and security forces.

Another detainee at Conakry central prison, Thierno Ibrahima Sow, died on the night of 17 November 2020.

One doctor for every 2,000 detainees in Conakry prison

Prison conditions fall short of minimum standards required by international law, particularly those enacted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) in the Robben Island guidelines.

Witness testimonies received by Amnesty International from relatives of detainees who died in prison or from former detainees indicate that authorities in Guinea failed to respect international standards regarding the rights of detainees.

For example, at Conakry’s central prison, built for around 300 people, a single doctor on site is supposed to care for nearly 2,000 inmates.

Amnesty International delegates visited Conakry prison four times between 2015 and 2019. A detained UFDG member described conditions in the prison at the end of 2020:

“We lie one on top of another. The food is rotten. The prisoners relieve themselves side by side … A young man has been here for six months, arrested only because he was dancing in the street to music praising [opposition leader] Cellou Dalein Diallo… There is no infirmary in the prison… There is only one doctor for all these detainees. When people revolt, they are sent to Ignace Deen Hospital,” the detainee told Amnesty International.

“The detention conditions in the Conakry prison are inhuman. Every detainee has the right to be treated with dignity, to receive adequate and appropriate food, hygiene conditions and care. When a detainee is ill, he must be able to see a doctor as soon as possible and have access to the necessary treatment,” said Fabien Offner.

Wave of arrests and convictions

Oumar Sylla, also known as Foniké Mengué, who is one of the executives of the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC in French) was arrested in Conakry on 29 September 2020, while mobilizing against President Alpha Condé’s candidacy for the presidential election.After four months of arbitrary detention, he was sentenced on 28 January 2021 to 11 months in prison for “participating in a prohibited assembly likely to disturb public order”. He was initially prosecuted for “illegal assembly, disturbing public order, destruction of public properties and endangering state security”. Amnesty International considers Oumar Sylla’s detention as arbitrary and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.

Amnesty International

According to a list drawn up by lawyers representing detained opposition supporters, 167 activists or opposition supporters are currently detained at the central prison in Conakry – and between 350 and 400 others are detained elsewhere in the country.

They include Souleymane Condé, coordinator of the FNDC in the US, and Youssouf Dioubaté, member of the FNDC, who were both sentenced on 13 January 2021 to one year in prison and a fine of 20 million Guinean francs (1,500 euros). They were arrested on 12 September 2020 and charged with “producing, disseminating, and making available to others, data likely to disturb order and public security”. Youssouf Diabaté was just with Souleymane Condé during his arrest.

UFDG executives including Ibrahima Chérif Bah, Ousmane “Gaoual” Diallo and Abdoulaye Bah, who were put in custody between 11 and 13 November 2020 are still awaiting trial. They face 11 charges including “possession and manufacture of small arms, criminal conspiracy, disturbing public order, looting and destruction, participation in a gathering, statements inciting violence”.

On 25 January 2021, the prosecutor of the Dixinn Court of First Instance requested a sentence of 10 years in prison against Mamadi Condé, a UFDG supporter prosecuted for “threats, insults, attack on the fundamental interests of the nation, xenophobia, incitement to revolt “. Several of these detainees have experienced health problems in recent weeks, according to their lawyers.

“These opposition figures are the tree that hides the forest of the anonymous, often detained for months in prisons on the fringes of the rule of law without being brought before a judge,” said Fabien Offner.

“The Guinean authorities must ensure that all people in pre-trial detention must have access to a lawyer and be tried within a reasonable time or released pending trial, as stated by international law. The Guinean authorities must also immediately and unconditionally release all those arrested and detained for simply exercising their freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

The Guinean authorities must ensure that all people in pre-trial detention must have access to a lawyer and be tried within a reasonable time or released pending trial, as stated by international law. The Guinean authorities must also immediately and unconditionally release all those arrested and detained for simply exercising their freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Fabien Offner

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• At least 16 shot dead in October

• A 62-year-old man tortured

The use of excessive force by Guinean security force in the weeks following the country’s presidential election, has led to more than a dozen killed including a 62-year-old man presumably from torture, and the arrest of hundreds during protests or police operations in pro-opposition neighborhoods,  Amnesty International said today.

President Alpha Condé was re-elected on 18 October for a third term and will be sworn in today. Amnesty International is highlighting new evidence, including testimonies from families of victims, analysis and authentication of images, and a count done with hospitals of the number of people killed, of the repression of demonstrations and dissenting voices between 19 October and the beginning of this month.

Before, during and immediately after the election, people were killed and injured by the defense and security forces, and despite regular announcements of investigations there have so far been no convictions.

Fabien Offner, Amnesty International West Africa researcher.

“President Alpha Condé’s swearing in today is the culmination of a contested electoral process marred by serious and widespread human rights violations in Guinea, carried out with complete impunity over more than a year. Before, during and immediately after the election, people were killed and injured by the defense and security forces, and despite regular announcements of investigations there have so far been no convictions,” said Fabien Offner, Amnesty International West Africa researcher.

“President Condé has the opportunity, with this new mandate, to break with the country’s repressive past. All suspected killings of protesters and others resulting from the excessive and unlawful use of force, and those of police officers must be investigated, and perpetrators brought to justice.”

Violent protests 

Following the presidential election, protests-some of which were violent- erupted to contest the results. The defense and security forces responded to the protests by using excessive force when carrying out operations in some neighborhouds which resulted in deaths.

According to the judicial authorities, during the days following the presidential election, 20 dead bodies were handed to the forensic medicine department at Ignace Deen Hospital in Conakry “for autopsy”, following the post-electoral violence.

According to the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG, an opposition party) there were 46 “victims of targeted assassinations” between 19 October and 3 November.

At least 16 people have been shot dead between 18 and 24 October, according to a count made by Amnesty International. Between 19 and 28 October alone, one clinic in the capital received 37 wounded people, including 15 with firearms injuries and nine with stab wounds.

Reprisals against residents

Amnesty International has documented acts of violence by the defense and security forces against residents of neighborhouds that favor the opposition in the capital. In Wanindara, north of Conakry, the director general of the national police reported two “armed attacks by two groups of assailants in the Wanindara market” carried out on 30 November against “police officers”, leaving one officer dead and three injured.

The Security Ministry subsequently described the attacks as “terrorist acts” and the police announced “sweeps” operations and a “strong security presence” in Wanindara.

During this period of heightened police and security activity, Mamadou Lamarana Diallo, a young resident of Wanindara, was killed at close range on 1 December without reason, by a group of six police officers who came to search his family home.  The young man presented no immediate danger.

His mother, who was present at the time of the incident, told Amnesty International:

“(..) The police said they were going to search the house (…) They looked at all the rooms and saw no one (…) In the meantime, I called my son. His arrival coincided with the exit of the police officers from the house and they shot him. He died along the way to the hospital. We returned home with the body we buried.”

Wanindara was “surrounded” in the days following the election by the defense and security forces, who “shot all over the neighbourhood,” according to another resident who was beaten with her son on 1 December.

She told Amnesty International: “(..) My 25-year-old son who is a student was going at the university and showed his student card to the police, but they beat him. He came back, and then I walked out to the road with him, greeted the police and asked them if they were the ones who hit my son. At that moment, their officer ordered the agents to knock at me. They ripped my clothes. “

Nothing could justify security operations that look like punitive expeditions carried out against the inhabitants of an entire neighborhoud.

Fabien Offner

“Authorities’ virulent statements about perceived dissenting neighborhouds in Conakry have intensified since Alpha Condé’s election. This worrying verbal escalation, coincided with serious human rights violations committed by security forces,” said Fabien Offner.

“Nothing could justify security operations that look like punitive expeditions carried out against the inhabitants of an entire neighborhoud. The use of firearms by police is only allowed under international law to protect themselves or others from imminent danger of death or serious injury.”

In the Cimenterie district in Dubreka, north of Conakry, Abdoulaye Djibril Bah died due to injuries sustained to his arm and hip from three bullets fired by defense and security forces on 21 October. He died in the arms of his friend who was threatened by police on his way to the hospital.

According to testimony received by Amnesty International, Abdoulaye had met people fleeing security forces who were in the way he was heading to and was shot in the arm. When he was trying to escape, a second bullet hit him in the leg, and when trying to crawl a third bullet hit him in the hip. Two people who tried to rescue him were respectively shot in the leg, arm and stomach.

A policeman came and said 'let them go, he (Abdoulaye) is already a dead man.

A friend of Abdoulaye Djibril Bah died due to injuries sustained to his arm and hip

“(…) Abdoulaye was conscious when I found him. (…) The police pointed guns at us saying that if we move (…) they would shoot. I cried and told them Abdoulaye was dying (…) I also told them to kill me because I will not let Abdoulaye die. A policeman came and said ‘let them go, he (Abdoulaye) is already a dead man,” his friend said.

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The director general of the police has repeatedly said police are not carrying arms when maintaining order. Based on expert analysis and authentication of photographs of shells recovered in a district of Conakry where the defense and security forces were present to repress a demonstration, Amnesty International confirms the use of bullets intended for AK / MPAK-type guns.  

These weapons are frequently used by members of the defense and security forces. The bullets may have been manufactured in China. On 23 October, these types of bullets were used by members of the defense and security forces, who seriously injured 24-year-old Ousmane Barry in the Lansanayah neighborhoud in Conakry. According to witnesses, they killed several people after besieging the neighborhood on that day.

Torture and ill-treatment

Forensic medicine experts at Amnesty International also analyzed and authenticated the photos of the injuries of Ibrahima Sow, 62, arrested on 24 October and who died on 17 November while he was under arrest. Ibrahima Sow was arrested for “criminal participation in a gathering with violence”, after the attack of an uranium company train during which “three gendarmes, a soldier and a civilian” were killed, according to the Attorney General of the Conakry Court of Appeal.

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The day after Sow’s death the Ministry of Justice said in a statement that he had tested positive for Covid-19, then recovered and left the Conakry prison treatment center. The Ministry said he was subsequently “complaining of diabetes” and was taken to the hospital, where he died. His family and the Guinean Organization for Human Rights (OGDH) accuse the authorities of deliberately covering up a death caused by acts of torture or ill-treatment in detention.

An Amnesty International analysis concluded that “taken together, Ibrahima Sow’s pattern of injuries strongly suggest the infliction of burns using a hot iron rod or a similar object. These injuries are very strong evidence of ill-treatment.”

Arbitrary arrests and detentions

The authorities carried out at least 400 arbitrary arrests, targeting opponents and members of civil society, after the presidential election. On 31 October, the General prosecutor of the Court of Appeal of Conakry announced that 325 people had been arrested during the post-electoral violence.

On 10 November, the Dixinn district prosecutor announced that 78 people had been brought before a judge and several others were wanted. On the following day, some of them like Ibrahima Chérif Bah, vice-president of the opposition UFDG party, Ousmane “Gaoual” Diallo, MP and coordinator of the UFDG, Abdoulaye Bah, former mayor of Kindia, Etienne Soropogui, president of the movement  “Our common values”, and Mamadou Cellou Baldé, coordinator of the UFDG Committees were arrested.

They were charged with “possession and manufacture of small arms, criminal conspiracy, disturbing public order, looting and destruction, participation in a gathering, and statements inciting violence”.

Etienne Soropogui, who suffered from lung-related health problems, was admitted to hospital on 27 November. He returned to prison on 8 December, but his health condition still requires treatment, according to his lawyer. In addition, a FNDC top official, Oumar Sylla, has been in prison for several months.

On 22 November, the government spokesman announced, “the suspension for health reasons of mass demonstrations throughout the national territory”.

Challenging President Condé’s reelection, should not become another pretext to muzzle opposition members, ban peaceful demonstrations and protect the impunity of the defense and security forces who have perpetrated violence against demonstrators and passers-by.

Fabien Offner

“Challenging President Condé’s reelection, should not become another pretext to muzzle opposition members, ban peaceful demonstrations and protect the impunity of the defense and security forces who have perpetrated violence against demonstrators and passers-by. The new government must urgently end the bloody crackdown in Guinea,” said Fabien Offner.

The post Guinea: Defense and security forces killed people in pro-opposition neighbourhoods after presidential election appeared first on Amnesty International.

Witness testimonies, satellite imagery and videos analysed and authenticated by Amnesty International confirm that defense and security forces in Guinea have used live ammunition against protesters after the 18 October disputed presidential election.

Several deaths and injuries have been recorded during protests and riots, which also led to destruction of houses and properties. Internet and phone calls were disrupted or cut on 23 and 24 October, and an online news website is still under suspension. Amnesty International has raised concerns about the silence of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) given the scale of human rights violations inflicted on people in Guinea.

Authorities must stop the use of firearms. The death of protesters, bystanders and local officials of the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution must also be independently, impartially and effectively investigated. If criminal culpability is found, those suspected must be brought to justice in fair trials before civilian courts.

Fabien Offner, Amnesty International West and Central Africa researcher.

“Authorities must stop the use of firearms. The death of protesters, bystanders and local officials of the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution must also be independently, impartially and effectively investigated. If criminal culpability is found, those suspected must be brought to justice in fair trials before civilian courts,” said Fabien Offner, Amnesty International West and Central Africa researcher.

‘’President Alpha Condé has repeatedly said he preferred to leave the country in 1993, rather than go into confrontation and ‘govern cemeteries’, as is the case today. We urge the international community to urgently come together and call for the protection of the population and for investigations to be opened.”

In a statement read on national television on 23 October, the Minister of Territorial Administration announced the requisition of the army to “maintain order wherever needed throughout the national territory.”

Prior to this announcement, the army had been deployed to several towns. This is contrary to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) rules, which state that “as a general rule, military personnel should not be deployed for the maintenance of order during meetings and should only be used in exceptional circumstances, and only in cases of absolute necessity.”

On 22 October, the same minister in another television pronouncement claimed that “12-calibre rifles were used by demonstrators to fire at citizens and members of the defense and security forces.’’ While Amnesty International could not independently confirm the use of weapons by the protesters, the organization, based on analysis of satellite imagery and authenticated videos, concludes that members of the defense and security forces used weapons of war in several towns, including Conakry and Labé.

A video taken in Kobayah (Conakry) on 21 October and authenticated by Amnesty International shows a member of the defense and security forces wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest firing three times and at a very close range in the direction of people supposed to be civilians, without any apparent threat to his life or that of another person, in violation of international rules on the use of firearms by armed forces.

Amnesty International was able to identify and analyze pictures of bullets and bullet shells taken in Labé (Labé region), where soldiers were deployed, according to several testimonies and videos. The analysis shows that these are ammunitions, 7.62x39mm in size which correspond to AK/PMAK weapons. Videos taken in recent days and months also show that these weapons are frequently carried by members of the Guinean defense and security forces, a fact that authorities have always denied.

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On 21 October, the Ministry of Security announced the death of nine people, including two police officers. The opposition party Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) announced on 23 October that 27 people had been shot dead since 19 October, including 18 in Conakry, three in Manéah, three in Labé, one in Mamou, one in Télimélé and one in Pita.

More than one hundred people were injured by gunshots while the house of UFDG leader and presidential candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo has been surrounded by security forces since 20 October. Diallo had proclaimed himself the winner without waiting for the official announcement of the results by the Independent National Electoral Commission which the opposition considers is under control of the government.

The FNDC has also accused the defense and security forces of having shot and killed Boubacar Baldé and Daouda Kanté, its local representatives in the areas of Sonfonia Gare 2 (Conakry) and Pita (Mamou region) respectively.

Amnesty International is still analyzing the information on its possession but is not yet able to establish a complete assessment, given the scale of the alleged deaths and injuries, and the disruption of the internet and telephone lines. However, the organization has documented, through various sources, the death of at least nine people, mostly shot dead, since 19 October. Information gathered so far on other alleged victims, based on data from some health facilities, as well as figures reported by the media in Guinea suggest that dozens of people might have been killed.

In two health facilities in the capital Conakry, Amnesty International has documented, between 19 and 21 October, at least 29 protesters injured, including several by firearms, or stabbed. The figure is an estimate.

El Hadj Yacouba Diallo, 67, was killed by a crowd on 23 October and his house in Enta-marché area (Conakry) was burnt, according to testimonies collected by Amnesty International. A witness told the organization:

‘’El Hadj Yacouba Diallo lived here for a very long time. Young people from the ruling political majority came in the middle of the day, armed with sticks, stones and other weapons. When they arrived, Diallo first fired shots, then took refuge in his house. They took him out, stoned him and beat him to death. The compounds close to his have also been vandalized.”

I left Abdoulaye on the ground and I had to run away,

A friend of Abdoulaye diomba Diallo, 18 ans, tué le 19 octobre

Abdoulaye “Diomba” Diallo, 18, was shot dead on 19 October in Hamdallaye (Conakry), near the Concasseur crossroads, according to testimonies from a member of his family and a friend. These were also corroborated by a video authenticated by Amnesty International.

According to these testimonies, five gendarmerie vehicles and one from other security forces were present while Diallo was shot. A 20-seconds video shows groups of young men walking on the pavement where tires have been placed. Clouds formed by tear gas can be seen in the background, where the defense and security forces are supposed to be.

The end of the video shows some young people running away in the opposite direction, and Abdoulaye “Diomba” Diallo falling on his back as a gunshot rang out. The victim’s clothes, visible in the video are the same as those visible in the pictures of his body, viewed by Amnesty International.

A friend of Abdoulaye carried him on his back until members of mixed security forces threw tear gas, making it impossible to carry his friend to safety. “I left Abdoulaye on the ground and I had to run away,” he said.

FNDC coordinator Boubacar Baldé, was killed on 21 October after being shot in the thigh. According to a family member, his friends took him to a health facility before attempting to transport him to a hospital, but roads were blocked preventing his evacuation.

Salimatou Bah, a nurse trainee in a health facility in the Cimenterie district (Conakry), died on 20 October 20 after being hit by a tear gas canister in the area of Bailobayo while on her way home. “She was buried on 21 October 21,” a relative told Amnesty International.

Frontal attack on freedom of expression

Internet connection and telephone calls to and from Guinea were severely disrupted or cut on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October with no prior warning from the authorities. The 22 March constitutional referendum had already been marked by cut of the internet in violation of the right to freedom of expression and access to information.

On 18 October, the High Authority for Communication (HAC) suspended the news website Guinéematin.com for a month, following “the live broadcast via Facebook of the vote counting” from several polling stations, and after the manager refused to stop the live broadcasting. The suspension decision is not only vague but contains legal loopholes with no possibility for appeal.

This new standstill of various means of communications constitutes an attack on freedom of expression and an attempt to silence protesters, human rights defenders, journalists and bloggers.

Fabien Offner.

‘’This new standstill of various means of communications constitutes an attack on freedom of expression and an attempt to silence protesters, human rights defenders, journalists and bloggers,” said Fabien Offner.

“The authorities must immediately lift the suspension of Guinéematin.com news website and the restrictions on access to internet and social media so that everyone can freely express himself and journalists can do their job.”

The post Guinea: Witness testimony, videos and satellite imagery confirm security forces fired live bullet at protesters appeared first on Amnesty International.

The crackdown on protests in Guinea, including those against a change in the constitution allowing President Alpha Condé to seek a third term, has resulted in the deaths of at least 50 people in less than a year, Amnesty International said in a new report published today, two weeks ahead of the country’s presidential election.

The report, ‘Marching to their deaths: Justice for victims of crackdown on demonstrations in Guinea’ documents the responsibility of the defence and security forces, sometimes in league with groups of young counter-demonstrators, for the unlawful killings of protesters and bystanders between October 2019 and July 2020.

It also outlines injuries sustained by 200 people and the arbitrary detention of more than 70 others, some of whom were held incommunicado over the same period. Several of those shot and wounded have fled their homes for fear of reprisals. Hospital authorities have also refused to admit to hospitals victims shot dead during some demonstrations.

We spoke to devastated families who described how their children lost their lives, shot in the back, chest, head or neck. We have seen injuries to arms, knees and feet caused by firearms, tear gas canisters and even the security forces’ vehicles.

Samira Daoud, West and Central Africa Regional Director at Amnesty International.

“We spoke to devastated families who described how their children lost their lives, shot in the back, chest, head or neck. We have seen injuries to arms, knees and feet caused by firearms, tear gas canisters and even the security forces’ vehicles,” said Samira Daoud, West and Central Africa Regional Director at Amnesty International.

“Exercising the right to freedom of peaceful assembly remains dangerous in Guinea, where impunity for human rights violations has remained the rule for the past decade. Concrete actions are required from the authorities to bring justice to the victims and their families.”

Based on interviews with more than 100 individuals and analyses of official documents, videos and photographs, the report provides evidence that the authorities have acted in contravention of national and international standards. The security and defence forces have illegally used firearms in several towns of the country.

Between October 2019 and February 2020, more than 30 people were killed during protests against the change in the constitution. Of these, 11 were shot and killed by bullets to the head, chest or abdomen.

The day of the referendum on constitutional change which the opposition boycotted – 22 March 2020 – was particularly deadly, with at least 12 demonstrators killed, nine of them by gunfire.Amnesty International has received testimonies and authenticated photographs and videos that confirm the involvement that day of groups of young counter-demonstrators alongside the security forces.

The gendarmes shot at one of the youths who Alpha Oumar came to save when he was shot in the leg. The demonstrators came to beat him up and he died not long after.

A member of Alpha Oumar Diallo, a motorcycle taxi driver's family

Alpha Oumar Diallo, a 18-year-old motorcycle taxi driver was shot on 22 March and beaten to death by counter-demonstrators in the capital Conakry. A member of his family said: “The gendarmes shot at one of the youths who Alpha Oumar came to save when he was shot in the leg. The demonstrators came to beat him up and he died not long after.”

Between April and July 2020, seven people were killed during demonstrations demanding better electricity supply, and during protests against the way the cordon sanitaire was being managed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dozens with firearms wounds

Amnesty International documented dozens of cases of protesters being shot and wounded. For example, at least 15 people were injured during the October and November 2019 protests, eight of them by firearms, according to the organization’s interviews with victims and medical staff.A 29-year-old mason was left paraplegic on 14 October 2019 after being hit by a bullet that entered through his neck and exited through his back.

He told Amnesty International:

“We were marching towards the gendarmes, who were wearing protective helmets. One of them, who was hooded, fired at us. He shot at my friend who died on the spot, and then he fired at me. He was concealed, I couldn’t see him… I am asking the authorities to take care of me so that I can recover my health and walk again. I can’t sleep for the pain.”

The security forces have, on occasion, injured people by ramming them with vehicles, or by throwing tear grenades at them. A man died of his injuries a few days after being run over by a police vehicle on 22 March 2020.

“He was running when he was hit by the police vehicle. His feet and his head were crushed… He undertook surgery but he lost a lot of blood and didn’t survive,” said one witness.

On 22 March 2020, the bodies of some of those who died during the demonstrations were taken to the public hospital morgues by relatives or bystanders but were turned away. 

“There are credible reports that the authorities prevented the bodies of victims from entering the hospitals without the presence of a judicial police officer,” Samira Daoud said.

“The rejection of these bodies by public hospitals means that the victims are not included in the government’s death toll. As a result, the families have not obtained death certificates and no autopsies have been conducted to enable a judicial inquiry.”

Almost none of the investigations have been followed up

The authorities have often announced the opening of investigations into cases of people killed during demonstrations. Virtually none of these are ever followed up, however, in violation of the victims’ and families’ right to justice.

Threats, fear of reprisals and a lack of confidence in the justice system have led victims or their relatives to go into hiding and not to file complaints. Only one of the families of the 12 people killed on 21 and 22 March 2020 told Amnesty International that they had filed a complaint.

Ban on demonstrations

The report also highlights numerous violations of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. At least 10 bans on demonstrations against the proposed constitutional change were recorded in a four-month period in the country. The grounds invoked by the authorities were generally vague and contrary to international law.

For example, in Kindia, in November 2019, the authorities banned a demonstration because: “Monday is the first day of the week, the day on which the entire administration begins work, the day on which pupils, students and the population have to go to school and also go about their daily business.”

Seventy people were arbitrarily arrested and detained for protesting against the proposed constitution change. Several of them told Amnesty International of the inhuman or degrading treatment they suffered while in detention.

Members of the Front national pour la défense de la Constitution (National Front for the Defence of the Constitution / FNDC), including two women, were stopped by residents on 22 March 2020 in the Boké region and beaten up while trying to dissuade voters from going to the polls. Taken into custody by the police, the two women said they were then threatened with rape.

Activist Abdoulaye Oumou Sow, who was arrested on 11 October 2019, was held in a “black cell” from 5pm until 1pm the following day. He told Amnesty International:“I asked to have a urine bottle removed from the cell to help me breathe but the security officers refused, and worse still, they told me to drink it if I was thirsty.”

Whoever is elected in the presidential elections on 18 October will be required to ensure that all such violations are investigated and prosecuted and that those suspected are brought before the competent courts.

Samira Daoud

“This behaviour by the military is in violation of international laws that prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. If it continues, the great fear is that this impunity will only encourage further violations and a mistrust of the institutions,” said Samira Daoud.

“Whoever is elected in the presidential elections on 18 October will be required to ensure that all such violations are investigated and prosecuted and that those suspected are brought before the competent courts.”

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Victims and their family members are demanding justice for the killings of more than 150 demonstrators, rapes, and other crimes committed by the Guinean security forces on September 28, 2009 in a stadium in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, six human rights groups said today.

The groups are the Association of Victims, Relatives and Friends of September 28, 2009 (AVIPA), Equal Rights for All (MDT), the Guinean Human Rights Organization (OGDH), the International Federation for Human Rights, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.

The Guinean authorities should immediately act to ensure that the long-delayed trial of the crimes can start as soon as possible, the organizations said. Guinea’s international and regional partners should press for the trial to take place without further delay. The Guinean government and the European Union, France, and United States have previously pledged support for the trial.

The trial was at last scheduled to open in June, but nothing has moved ahead.

Asmaou Diallo, president of AVIPA

“The trial was at last scheduled to open in June, but nothing has moved ahead,” said Asmaou Diallo, president of AVIPA. “The Covid-19 pandemic may have created new challenges, but the government should ensure that the trial’s opening gets back on track, for the sake of the victims.”

The domestic investigation, which began in February 2010 and concluded in late 2017, progressed slowly amid political, financial, and logistical obstacles. But in a country in which impunity largely prevails when security forces are implicated in crimes, the completion of a credible investigation sent a strong signal and raised hopes for the opening of a trial that could bring justice to the victims.

Some survivors have died while progress in the case languished. The surviving victims continue to demand justice. “Since that day we cry and then we dry our tears and hope that we will have justice,” said one victim in a video that the groups issued last year on the need for the trial to begin.

More than 13 suspects were charged – 11 of them sent for trial, including current and former high-level officials. Suspects include Moussa Dadis Camara, the former leader of the National Council of Democracy and Development junta, which ruled Guinea in September 2009, who is living in exile in Burkina Faso, and his vice president, Mamadouba Toto Camara. Some of the suspects continue to occupy influential positions, including Moussa Tiegboro Camara, who is in charge of fighting drug trafficking and organized crime.

Abubakar “Toumba” Diakité, Dadis Camara’s aide de camp, has also been charged, and was extradited from Senegal to Guinea in March 2017 after evading justice for more than five years.

Four other people who have been charged are in detention at the central prison of Conakry, respectively since 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015. Their provisional detention is illegal given that it exceeds the maximum limit under Guinea law, which is 18 to 24 months in criminal matters.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened a preliminary examination of the situation in Guinea in October 2009. The ICC, designed as a court of last resort for the most serious crimes, steps in when national courts are unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute such cases.

Concerns over an evident lack of will to organize this trial in Guinea are increasing, the organizations said. The current government’s own involvement in numerous human rights violations could hinder its willingness to bring to trial individuals accused of crimes that took place before it came to power.

In recent months, the Guinean authorities have harassed, intimidated, and arbitrarily arrested opposition members and human rights defenders in an atmosphere of insecurity linked to restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. This follows a violent crackdown on opposition members and supporters by security forces in the lead up to and during the controversial March 22 constitutional referendum and legislative elections.

In this context, the six organizations are concerned that the current authorities could further delay the stadium trial. The authorities need to take steps to protect witnesses, victims, and lawyers involved in the 2009 case, the organizations said. An attempted break-in at the AVIPA office during the March 22 elections illustrates the security risks for participants in this trial.

The victims and their beneficiaries also are living in deplorably precarious conditions and need to receive adequate, efficient, and swift assistance from the Guinean authorities, the organizations said.

In April 2018, the then-justice minister, Cheick Sako, set up a steering committee to organize the trial. It set Conakry’s Court of Appeal as the location.

In January 2020, Justice Minister Mohammed Lamine Fofana announced to the United Nations his government’s “unequivocal” support for opening the trial. Despite his announcement that the proceedings would begin in June, following completion of construction on the courtroom facility, the trial has not moved forward.

In June, Mory Doumbouya was appointed justice minister. He said that he supports the trial, but that the judiciary is responsible for organizing it.

The Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC should urge the Guinean authorities to organize the trial as soon as possible to give surviving victims an opportunity to participate in a trial that would be a key step in the fight against impunity in Guinea. Eleven years provide ample time to prepare a trial of this scale, the organizations said.

The September 28, 2009 trial requires political support at the highest level to go ahead.

Abdoul Gadiry Diallo, president of OGDH.

“The September 28, 2009 trial requires political support at the highest level to go ahead,” said Abdoul Gadiry Diallo, president of OGDH. “Our hopes lie with President Condé and Minister Doumbouya to herald in its commencement as soon as possible. Appropriate measures to ensure the participation of Dadis Camara and the safety of victims and witnesses will be crucial.”

Background

Shortly before noon on September 28, 2009, several hundred members of Guinea’s security forces opened fire on tens of thousands of people who had gathered peacefully at the 28 September stadium in Conakry for a march against Dadis Camara’s intention to run for president.

The security forces also individually or gang raped more than 100 women and sexually assaulted some of them with objects such as batons or bayonets, during or soon after the events. The security forces killed more than 150 people and wounded hundreds of others.

The security forces then organized a cover-up operation, sealing off all the entrances to the stadium and morgues and removing the bodies to bury them in mass graves, many of which have yet to be identified.

The post Guinea: Stadium massacre victims await justice appeared first on Amnesty International.

The Guinean authorities must address mounting human rights violations, including the killing of protesters, bans on peaceful assemblies and attacks on dissenting voices, which threaten to get worse ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Amnesty International said in a new report today.

Guinea: Red flags ahead of the 2020 presidential election documents the deteriorating human rights situation between January 2015 and October 2019, including the killing of 70 protesters and bystanders and at least three members of the security forces. The report warns of rising political tensions amidst growing public concerns President Alpha Condé will amend the constitution to run for a third term.

Nine protestors were killed last month alone during demonstrations against a potential revision of the constitution. Leaders of pro-democracy movements and scores of protestors were arrested. This is an affront to human rights and a brutal attempt by the Guinean authorities to silence dissent.

Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry, Amnesty International’s West and Central Africa Director

“Nine protestors were killed last month alone during demonstrations against a potential revision of the constitution. Leaders of pro-democracy movements and scores of protestors were arrested. This is an affront to human rights and a brutal attempt by the Guinean authorities to silence dissent,” said Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry, Amnesty International’s West and Central Africa Director.

“The authorities must do everything in their power to defuse tensions, protect human rights and save lives before, during and after the next elections. We call on President Condé’s government to end its rule of fear and repression by amending the legislation on the use of force to deal with public assemblies and removing military armed forces from protest areas.”

Amnesty International releases its report ahead of Guinea’s UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in January 2020. The report assesses the human rights situation since the UPR in January 2015. In that time, Guinea has abolished the death penalty which is a significant and positive human rights development.

However, there are many other areas, where it is still falling short.

Amnesty International found that 70 protesters and bystanders were killed in the context of protests between January 2015 and October 2019. While the organisation could not confirm the circumstances of all the deaths, testimonies from medical staff, witnesses and the type of ammunition used indicate that at least 59 of them appear to have been killed by the police and gendarmerie. These victims include a 7-year-old child who, according to medical sources, was hit by a stray bullet in October 2015.

Amnesty International also documented the killing of Amadou Boukariou Baldé a student who was beaten to death by gendarmes deployed to disperse a demonstration at the University of Labé in central Guinea on 31 May 2019.
The report also revealed that hundreds of people, including children as young as four years old, have been injured by security forces using live ammunition, batons and tear gas canisters.

One of the victims is 10-year-old Mamadou Hady Barry, who was hit in the back by a bullet as he was returning home from Koranic school in Conakry on 13 November 2018. He suffered severe injuries which have left him unable to walk.

A large number of protests have been arbitrarily banned by the government in recent years. Human rights defenders, including journalists, continue to be summoned, detained or arrested by the police, solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

In the latest example, at least 60 members of the pro-democracy group National Front for the Defense of the Constitution were arrested since 12 October 2019. A court sentenced five of their leaders to up to one year in prison for calling the peaceful protest. Dozens of those who participated were sentenced to a year in prison for attending an “illegal assembly”.

The report also highlights how journalists have been targeted, had their media houses’ licences suspended or been assaulted by members of the security forces.

For example, Aboubacar Algassimou Diallo, a radio presenter at Lynx FM, and Souleymane Diallo, the general administrator, were summoned by police on 19 and 20 August 2019 after airing an interview with a woman, who accused the Minister of Defence of embezzling funds earmarked for Guinean UN peacekeepers.

Amnesty International found overcrowding to be rife across Guinean prisons. For example, at Conakry Central Prison, which has capacity for 500 prisoners, 1,468 people were detained. At least 109 individuals have died in detention in the period covered by the report.

The report also documented cases of torture and other ill-treatment, particularly in police custody. This includes beatings, rapes, the use of stress positions, burns and sleep deprivation.

Impunity continues to rule

Impunity continues to rule in Guinea. The relatives of people killed during protests have filed dozens of police complaints, sometimes with specific information on the units of the security forces deployed, including names, and number plates.

Yet only one of these cases led to judicial proceedings. In February 2019, the conviction of a police captain for the 2016 killing of a bystander during protests was the first time since 2010 that a member of the security forces has been brought to justice.

There has been limited progress in the trial proceedings relating to the killing of over 150 peaceful demonstrators and the rape of and sexual violence against at least 100 women in the Conakry Stadium in 2009.

To put an end to the cycle of violence in Guinea ahead of the 2020 presidential election, the authorities must send a clear message that human rights violations will not be tolerated.

Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry.

“To put an end to the cycle of violence in Guinea ahead of the 2020 presidential election, the authorities must send a clear message that human rights violations will not be tolerated,” said Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry.

“The authorities must stop muzzling and suppressing dissenting voices.”

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