Reacting to the arbitrary arrest and detention of two activists from the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (Front National pour la Défense de la Constitution - FNDC) on 9 July, Samira Daoud, Amnesty International's Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said:

"Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah have been held in secret detention in violation of international law since their arrest by armed persons in uniform on the evening of 9 July. The Guinean authorities must immediately release Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah. Pending their release, the authorities must guarantee and ensure their safety, disclose where they are being detained, and allow them access to lawyers and family visits.

The Guinean authorities have been stepping up their crackdown on peaceful dissent. Samira Daoud, Amnesty International's Regional Director for West and Central Africa

"For several months now, the Guinean authorities have been stepping up their crackdown on peaceful dissent, with the suspension of media outlets, restrictions on internet access and the brutal repression of demonstrations, including the killing of at least 47 people during protests as of 22 April 2024 according to Amnesty International's latest report."

Background

On 9 July, Oumar Sylla called on social networks for people to wear red clothes on 11 July to "protest against the closure of the media and the high cost of living, in particular power cuts and all the blunders of the transition".

Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah have already been arbitrarily detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Oumar Sylla was arbitrarily detained under the Alpha Condé regime, then after the CNRD came to power, from July 2022 to May 2023 . Mamadou Billo Bah was also detained from January 2023 to May 2023.