URGENT ACTION

ACTIVIST STILL HELD DESPITE RELEASE ORDERS
Saïkou Yaya Diallo, the legal coordinator of the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), remains held in arbitrary detention despite two court-issued release orders. He is being held in Conakry prison, in the Guinean capital, on fabricated charges of ‘assault, violence, threats and public insults’. Saïkou Yaya Diallo suffers from chronic diabetes and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is at a heightened risk of contracting the virus. He must be immediately and unconditionally released.

TAKE ACTION: WRITE AN APPEAL IN YOUR OWN WORDS OR USE THIS MODEL LETTER

Mory Doumbouya
Minister of Justice
BP: 564 Conakry
Email: maitredoumbouya@yahoo.com

Dear Minister,

I am concerned that the Guinean authorities are still detaining Saïkou Yaya Diallo, the legal coordinator of the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC in French) despite two court orders to release him under judicial supervision; the first on 21 May and the second on 6 July by the president of the criminal section of Kaloum Court. According to his lawyer, the prosecutor has appealed the 6 July release order despite the fact that the law does not allow this.

Saïkou Yaya Diallo was arrested on 7 May 2020 and detained at the Directorate of the Judicial Police. On 12 May, he was charged with "assault, violence, threats and public insults" and transferred to Conakry prison, where he has since been held. On 25 March, during a FNDC press conference, FNDC members, including Saïkou Yaya Diallo, kept a suspected intelligence agent claiming to be a journalist in an office while waiting for a crowd to disperse outside, presumably to protect the agent from potential violence from the crowd of opposition activists. According to several witnesses, Saïkou Yaya Diallo was not involved in any violence.

I am concerned that Saïkou Yaya Diallo is being detained solely in connection with his pro-democracy activism with the FNDC. I am also deeply concerned about Saïkou Yaya Diallo’s health whilst in detention, as not only does he suffer from chronic diabetes, which requires a strict diet and treatment, but his precondition puts him at a heightened risk of contracting COVID-19. On 5 June, the Guinean authorities officially confirmed 68 cases of COVID-19 and three deaths in Conakry prison.

In light of the above, I urge you to:
•	Immediately and unconditionally release Saïkou Yaya Diallo and drop all charges against him.
•	Ensure that, pending his release, Saïkou Yaya Diallo’s conditions of detention are in line with international standards, including by allowing him access to healthcare, water, the appropriate food for his diet, and regular access to his family. If contact visits are restricted due to COVID-19 preventive measures, they must be replaced with other means of contact, for example, by phone, emails or video calls.
•	End harassment, intimidation and attacks against human rights defenders, and activists, including members of pro-democracy groups in Guinea.
	
Yours sincerely,

Additional information

On 25 March, a suspected government intelligence agent, claiming to be a journalist, was identified during a FNDC press conference at PADES (Parti des Démocrates pour l'Espoir in French) party headquarters in Conakry’s Ratoma district by FNDC members. FNDC members, including Saïkou Yaya Diallo, secured the suspected government intelligence agent in an office and asked her why she was there and who had sent her. Saïkou Yaya Diallo called a bailiff to establish the presence of the intelligence agent. FNDC members said that she would be released after the press conference to avoid the crowd outside, fearing that she would be lynched by opposition activists in retaliation to the killing of 12 people by security forces following controversial elections in the week before. The police subsequently raided the headquarters of the PADES and arrested 11 individuals including Aicha Barry, spokesperson for the women’s branch of the FNDC. She was charged with “sequestration, violence and assault”. She was released after eight days in detention at Judicial Police Directorate under judicial supervision. According to the Director General of the Police Department who was interviewed by online news website mediaguinée.com, the suspected government intelligence agent is neither a police nor intelligence agent but an administrative officer working at the Ministry of Security.
The National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC) is a coalition of non-governmental groups and opposition parties which boycotted the referendum on March 2020. Since October 2019, FNDC has been organizing protests against the government’s planned constitutional change. The new constitution reset presidential term limits, allowing President Alpha Condé to be elected for a third term. On the day of his arrest, Saïkou Yaya Diallo was planning to participate in a radio show regarding the complaint filed by the FNDC against President Alpha Condé.
Amnesty International documented serious human rights violations committed by the defence and security forces in several cities across the country. Since the beginning of 2020, several people have been victims of unlawful killings and arbitrary arrests. Security forces often use excessive force against protesters and bystanders. Leaders of pro-democracy movements and scores of protestors have been also been arbitrarily arrested, convicted and sentenced since 2019. Amnesty International campaigned on the case of Oumar Sylla (alias Foniké Mengué), another FNDC member and pro-democracy activist, who was kept in arbitrary detention for almost four months for the sole purpose of obstructing the work of the FNDC against the ruling party’s nomination of President Alpha Condé to run for a third term. On 27 August, the court dismissed all the charges against him and he was released.
PREFERRED LANGUAGE TO ADDRESS TARGET: FRENCH
You can also write in your own language.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: 9 OCTOBER 2020
Please check with the Amnesty office in your country if you wish to send appeals after the deadline.

NAME AND PREFFERED PRONOUN: Saïkou Yaya Diallo (he/his)

LINK TO PREVIOUS UA: https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AFR2925482020ENGLISH.pdf
Additional TARGETS

M.Mamadou Taran Diallo
Minister of Citizenship and National Unity (in charge of human rights)
Email: mtdiallo84@gmail.com
And copies to:
His Excellency Mr Alexandre Cece Loua  
Embassy of the Republic of Guinea
239 Old Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5QT
embassyofguinea@gmail.com