Two years after the enforced disappearance of activists Foniké Menguè and Mamadou Billo Bah, the NGO Tournons La Page (TLP) has released a report decrying an “epidemic” of abductions in Guinea.
The report says this phenomenon is marked by a growing number of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial arrests and kidnappings targeting civil society actors, journalists, political opponents and human rights defenders.
According to TLP, the wave of abductions, disappearances and arbitrary arrests has intensified in Guinea since 2024, against the backdrop of a shrinking civic space.
The organisation argues that abductions have become a tool of repression aimed at silencing dissenting voices in an environment characterised by fear and impunity. It says the lack of credible judicial investigations has encouraged the recurrence of such violations of fundamental rights.
The report highlights the case of Oumar Sylla, widely known as Foniké Menguè and coordinator of the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC), and Mamadou Billo Bah, both of whom have been missing since July 9, 2024, following their alleged abduction in Conakry. Two years later, their families and human rights organisations say they still have no information about their whereabouts or fate, despite repeated appeals to the authorities.
TLP says it had documented several other cases of abductions and enforced disappearances involving activists, journalists and ordinary citizens. The organisation calls on the Guinean authorities to launch independent investigations, identify those responsible and ensure the protection of public freedoms in line with Guinea’s international human rights commitments.
The NGO also urges Guinea’s regional and international partners, including African organisations and United Nations human rights mechanisms, to remain vigilant in the face of what it describes as a worsening human rights situation. It calls for all reported disappearances to be thoroughly investigated and for those responsible to be held accountable before the courts.
Since launching its remembrance and advocacy campaign for victims of enforced disappearances on June 1, 2026, TLP-Guinea says it has reached several million people through social media in an effort to sustain pressure for truth and justice on behalf of victims and their families.
TE/Sf/lb/as/APA