Locate, Release Them, Investigate Allegations of Torture
On the evening of July 9, three members of the opposition coalition, National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (Front national pour la défense de la Constitution, FNDC), Oumar Sylla, (known as Foniké Menguè), Mamadou Billo Bah, and Mohamed Cissé, were watching football at Menguè's home in Conakry, Guinea's capital, when security forces forced their way in, arbitrarily detained the men, and transferred them to an unknown location. The authorities have yet to acknowledge their detention or disclose their whereabouts, despite being asked by lawyers representing the men. This amounts to enforced disappearance under international law.
Based on media reports and information shared with Human Rights Watch by members of the FNDC, dozens of soldiers, some of whom are believed to be special forces, gendarmes, and armed men in plain clothes, arbitrarily detained and repeatedly beat the three men before taking them first to the gendarmerie headquarters in Conakry and then to an army camp on Kassa island, off Conakry's coast. An FNDC statement suggested the three men were being tortured during extrajudicial interrogations.
The FNDC, a prominent coalition of Guinean civil society groups and opposition parties, has been calling for the restoration of democratic rule following the military coup in September 2021. On the morning of his disappearance, Menguè, who is the FNDC coordinator, called on his supporters to protest on July 11 against media shutdowns by the authorities and the high cost of living.
In August 2022, Guinea's government dissolved the FNDC on politically motivated grounds, but the coalition has continued its activities.
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Menguè was one of a number of people arrested in 2022 on charges of "illegal protest and destruction of public and private buildings" following violent demonstrations in Conakry in which at least five people were killed. He was released in May 2023 and cleared of all charges. Bah, who is the FNDC outreach coordinator, was previously arrested in January 2023 on charges of "complicity in the destruction of public and private property, assault, and battery" for taking part in protests. Bah was released in May 2023 and freed from all charges.
Forcibly disappeared people are held without any legal protections and are much more vulnerable to torture and other abuses. Guinea's military authorities should immediately confirm the detention and location of the three men, release them without delay, and launch a credible investigation into the allegations of torture.
Ilaria Allegrozzi, Senior Sahel Researcher
