In February, security forces arrested La Lance journalist Mohamed Lamine Diallo – known by his pen name, Benn Pépito – searched his home, and detained him for three days without charge. Pépito's arrest coincided with the publication of a critical editorial by the journalist in which he compared the situation in Guinea, where President Lansana Conté has ruled since 1984, to that of Togo, where the army moved to install longtime ruler Gnassingbé Eyadema's son as president following Eyadema's death.

Conté signed a decree allowing private broadcasting in Guinea, one of the last countries in Africa, along with Zimbabwe and Eritrea, to have banned it. The law, signed in August, enables private citizens and organizations to broadcast but excludes political parties and religious movements. Local journalists welcomed the new law, but remained concerned that the government could delay its implementation or use red tape to block license applications.

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