Prisoner of conscience on hunger strike

Oumar Sylla was arrested on 29 September 2020, during the campaign period prior to the presidential elections of 18 October 2020. Following the election, protests -some of which were violent- erupted to contest the results. The defense and security forces responded to the protests by using excessive force when carrying out operations in some neighborhoods which resulted in deaths.

At least 16 people were shot dead between 18 and 24 October 2020, according to a count made by Amnesty International. Between 19 and 28 October 2020 alone, one clinic in the capital received 37 wounded people, including 15 with firearms injuries and nine with stab wounds.

The authorities have carried out at least 400 arbitrary arrests, targeting opponents and civil society members, after the election. On 31 October 2020, the General prosecutor of Conakry’s Court of Appeal announced that 325 people had been arrested during the post-election protests where violence ensued. On 10 November 2020, the Dixinn district prosecutor announced that 78 people had been brought before a judge and several others were wanted. On the following day, Ibrahima Chérif Bah, vice-president of the opposition UFDG party, Ousmane "Gaoual" Diallo, MP and coordinator of the UFDG, Abdoulaye Bah, former mayor of Kindia, Etienne Soropogui, president of the movement, “Our common values”, and Mamadou Cellou Baldé, coordinator of the UFDG Committees were arrested. (For more information see the press release here.)