Amnesty International Urges Guinea to End Impunity for its Security Forces

Guinea has failed to hold security forces accountable for the lethal crackdown on anti-government protests since last year, Amnesty International said on Thursday, ahead of this month’s presidential poll. At least 50 people were killed during protests against President Alpha Conde between October 2019 and July 2020 in the West African state, the rights group said in a report. The report comes ahead of the October 18 presidential election in Guinea, where Conde is running for a controversial third presidential term. Mass protests against that possibility began in October last year, but the president defied opposition and pushed through a new constitution in March, allowing him to reset the two-term presidential limit to zero. The pushback against a Conde third term was met with a violent crackdown, according to Amnesty’s 63-page report, leaving victims reluctant to seek justice for fear of reprisals. Based on interviews with more than 100 people, the report also pointed to the military’s involvement in policing the protests, “in violation of national legislation”. Among other alleged abuses, mortuaries refused to receive the bodies of people killed during protests, resulting in few official reports on demonstration deaths, the report said.

SOURCE: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL