The United Nations and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) raised concerns in a press release on Thursday over Guinean civil society activists Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah’s disappearance, as experts say they could face torture, mistreatment, and even extra-judicial execution.
The UN and ACHPR experts stressed that Guinea authorities’ failure to address the activists’ disappearance and the deprivation of their rights constitute “enforced disappearance.” Enforced disappearances are prohibited under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, which places a responsibility on signatory states to punish the offense appropriately. The experts urged the release of the activists and for officials to provide them with their rights, pressing the authorities to investigate their disappearance and punish those responsible.
Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah, both members of the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), were arrested in the Guinea capital of Conakry on July 9 along with activist Mohamed Cisse, who was released soon after. The activists were apparently detained by armed soldiers who took them to an unknown destination, therefore raising accusations of “kidnapping.” According to the FNDC, the arrests were carried out without a warrant and proper legal procedures.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a statement condemning the disappearance and urging the country’s transitional government to release Sylla and Bah “unless formally charged in accordance with established judicial procedures, guaranteeing their right to an adequate legal defence.” The commissioner further highlighted that the right to free speech, expression, and freedom of assembly must be protected in Guinea for all.
Amnesty International and several Guinean human rights organizations, who called for an independent and transparent investigation into the disappearance, spoke with Cisse following his release and reported that the activists were “subjected to acts of torture.” The organizations added that as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Guinea is under an international obligation to protect and guarantee all its citizens’ human rights. The groups further urged the country to join the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.
