Guinea’s attorney general has ordered judicial action against ousted President Alpha Conde and 26 of his former officials in connection with the violence that erupted during Conde’s disputed attempt for a third term.
Conde, 84, was deposed by officers who currently control the country in a military coup in September. Anger had grown against him after he changed the constitution to run for re-election in 2020, which he did.
According to a letter signed by the attorney general, the charges against Conde and his accomplices include complicity in murder and assault, sexual violence, and forced disappearances stemming from civil disturbances sparked by the disputed election.
Conde’s decision to run for a third term sparked repeated protests resulting in dozens of deaths as police cracked down with force on demonstrators, both before and after the election.
Rights group Amnesty International said that at least 50 people were killed and over 200 injured in the months leading up to the vote. At least 17 people were killed in the days after.
State security forces “benefited from total impunity in complicity with those in power in Conakry at the time”, said the court document.
In it, the attorney general asked the district attorney to immediately initiate legal proceedings against Conde and a number of others including the former prime minister and former minister of defence.
It also ordered legal proceedings against anyone who participated in the destruction of buildings during the protests, and anyone who organised marches that led to violence.
The court order appeared to reverse a recent announcement by Guinea’s military junta saying that Conde would be released from house arrest.
He has been kept under supervision since he was ousted, although he was allowed to travel to the United Arab Emirates for a medical check-up.
Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, head of the junta, said on Saturday it would probably take more than three years to organise elections and a transition back to civilian rule.