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A Guinean appeal court has reduced the prison sentence of former Prime Minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana for corruption-related offences, paving the way for his release after more than four years in detention.
The court ruled on Thursday, cutting his sentence from five years to three years and nine months.
Fofana had been convicted of corruption-related offences, but the court overturned the charge of embezzling public funds while upholding convictions for illicit enrichment and money laundering.
The revised sentence means he has now completed his jail term, as he has been in detention since April 2022, mostly while receiving medical care in a clinic.
However, the court ordered him to pay three billion Guinean francs (about $340,000) to the state, along with the confiscation of some of his assets.
Fofana served as prime minister under former President Alpha Condé from 2018 until the military takeover in September 2021.
His case was handled by the Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Offences (CRIEF), a special court set up after the coup to fight corruption.
The ruling is part of a wider anti-corruption drive by Guinea’s military government, led by Mamady Doumbouya.
However, critics say the crackdown has also been accompanied by rising political pressure, including restrictions on opposition parties and on protests.
Human rights groups have raised concerns over arrests, convictions, forced exiles, and reports of disappearances involving opposition figures.
