Communiqué Posté le 12:25 30-09-2022, modifié le 12:25 30-09-2022 par Tournons la Page
Today, September 30, 2022, it has been two months since Oumar Sylla - coordinator of the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC), deputy coordinator of Tournons La Page Guinée (TLP-Guinée) - and Ibrahima Diallo - head of operations of the FNDC, coordinator of TLP-Guinée - were arbitrarily detained at the Central House of Conakry. For two months, their rights have been violated and their health has deteriorated. As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) prepares to implement a series of "progressive sanctions" against the Guinean authorities, the signatory organizations - ACAT-France, CFDT, Tournons La Page - call for the immediate release of the two activists.
Oumar Sylla and Ibrahima Diallo were violently arrested on July 30, 2022, separately, by hooded and heavily armed soldiers and gendarmes, as the country embarked on a heavy crackdown on demonstrators who participated in rallies organized by the FNDC on July 28 and 29, 2022.
At least five people, including two minors, died in the streets during the two days of demonstrations denouncing the unilateral management of the transition by the 'Comité national du rassemblement pour le développement' (CNRD) and calling for a rapid return to constitutional order.
Oumar Sylla and Ibrahima Diallo were then unjustly charged with "participation in a prohibited assembly, looting, destruction of public and private property, arson and assault and battery".
On August 6, 2022, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Mr. Mory Condé, announced the dissolution of the FNDC on the grounds that it was organizing "armed" demonstrations on the public highway and that it was not an approved non-governmental organization in the country. According to our organizations, this decision is part of a strategy to use the law to criminalize FNDC members and their movement, resulting in legal harassment that forces FNDC activists into hiding.
Oumar Sylla and Ibrahima Diallo are now in prison for one reason only: to have used their right to freedom of expression and to have peacefully demanded a rapid return to constitutional order and a better future for Guinea and its people. The health of the two activists deteriorated significantly in detention: Oumar Sylla was admitted to hospital on August 12 as a result of trauma suffered during his arrest. Ibrahima Diallo was evacuated to the hospital on September 12 due to severe breathing difficulties. He was readmitted to prison without undergoing most of the required examinations.
The signatory organizations invite the CNRD to :
- To immediately and unconditionally release Oumar Sylla and Ibrahima Diallo and to drop all charges against them ;
- Put an end to the harassment, including judicial harassment, of members and supporters of the FNDC and TLP-Guinea as well as of citizens who have peacefully participated in FNDC demonstrations ;
- Guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association in the country, in accordance with Guinea's international commitments, including Articles 19, 21, and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Articles 9, 11, and 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
Friday, September 30, 2022
Signatories :
- Action des chrétiens pour l’abolition de la torture (ACAT-France)
- CFDT
- Tournons La Page
