Amnesty International Report 2000 - Guinea

Head of state: Lansanna Conté
Head of government: Lamine Sidibe (replaced Sidya Touré in March)
Capital: Conakry
Population: 7.4 million
Official language: French
Death penalty: retentionist

Members of the opposition, including Alpha Condé, president of the Rassemblement du peuple de Guinée (RPG), Guinean People's Rally, remained in detention without charge or trial. Other members of parliament and local government councillors, as well as other elected officials of the RPG, were sentenced to prison terms in April. Many appeared to be prisoners of conscience. At least 30 soldiers, including possible prisoners of conscience sentenced to prison terms in 1998, remained in detention. Freedom of expression was once again threatened. Three journalists were arrested and detained briefly, and two were expelled from the country.

Background

The presidential election of December 1998, in which President Lansanna Conté' was re-elected, was marred by violence and arrests accompanied by torture and ill-treatment. Opposition parties whose leaders were arrested criticized the result as unfair and accused the government of rigging the election by denying their supporters voting cards. President Conté' was sworn in for a new five-year term of office in January. In March, President Conté' appointed Lamine Sidibe, president of the Supreme Court, as Prime Minister. He replaced Sidya Touré', who had been Prime Minister since July 1996.

Violations arising from the elections

During the presidential poll in 1998, scores of individuals, including opposition members of parliament and local government councillors, were arrested. Some were released after two months without charge. These included Marcel Cros, leader of the Parti d'émocratique africain de Guin'ée, African Democratic Party of Guinea, who had been accused of illegal possession of firearms. Others, including RPG members of parliament, were tried and sentenced to prison terms.

• In March, more than 60 people were tried by a court in Kankan. The charges against them included involvement in an unauthorized march and incitement to violence. In April, some were sentenced to prison terms ranging from four months to five years and a large fine, and two were acquitted. All those sentenced to five years' imprisonment were tried in absentia and the court ordered an international arrest warrant to be issued against them. RPG supporters sentenced to four months' imprisonment were released after having served their prison terms. They included members of parliament and at least eight women. AI believed that most of these people, including Koumbafing Keita, El-Hadj Amiata Kaba, Ibahima Kalil Keita and Mamadou Yö Kouyaté', were prisoners of conscience.

Detention without trial

Alpha Condé', president of the RPG, a member of parliament and a candidate in the 1998 presidential election, was arrested with other members of his party in December 1998. The RPG members and Antoine Bogolo Soromou, former mayor of Lola and president of the Alliance nationale pour la d'émocratie (AND), National Alliance for Democracy, also arrested in December 1998, remained in detention without charge throughout 1999. The Guinean authorities accused Alpha Condé' of wishing to leave the country illegally and of seeking to recruit troops in order to destabilize the country. In July, before a visit to Guinea by Jacques Chirac, the French President, the authorities announced their intention to try him before the State Security Court in September, but this trial was not held. Alpha Cond'é and the other detained members of the opposition were held in the Central Prison in Conakry, and denied family visits. Alpha Cond'é's French lawyer was refused entry to the country.

Following Jacques Chirac's visit to Conakry, at least 12 members of the opposition were arrested and released within a few days.

Possible prisoners of conscience

At least 30 soldiers, including possible prisoners of conscience, remained held. They had been sentenced to prison terms of up to 15 years after an unfair trial in 1998 before the State Security Court, in connection with a mutiny in 1996.

Freedom of expression

Journalists continued to be under attack. In February the authorities expelled Don de Dieu Agoussou, a journalist of Beninese nationality, working for l'Oeil, a weekly newspaper. In 1998, he had received threats after writing an article critical of the authorities. In April Jean-Baptiste Kourouma, the associate director and editor-in-chief of l'Indépendant, a private weekly, was arrested and detained at Conakry police station after he published an article in which he accused senior state officials of bribery. He was held for three weeks before being released without charge. In December, the owner of l'Indépendant, Aboubacar Sylla, and his editor-in chief, Saliou Samb, were arrested and detained without charge. Aboubacar Sylla was released after two days and Saliou Samb was detained for 12 days and then expelled to Ghana.

Torture

Torture was frequently used shortly after arrest and as a punishment during interrogation. During the trial of the RPG supporters in Kankan, most of the detainees stated that they had been tortured in detention. They said that members of the security forces held them on the ground, stamping on their hands and feet before beating them. Some received up to 50 truncheon blows on the same day. The President of the court apologized but he did not order any investigation into these allegations.

There were no investigations into any allegations of torture in the past or in the course of 1999.

Use of lethal force

In October, two students were killed in a demonstration protesting against high transport fares. The security forces used teargas as well as live bullets to break up the march.

AI appeal

In January, on the eve of President Conté' being sworn in for a new term of office as head of state, AI appealed to him to put an end to torture and to release all prisoners of conscience.