A Guinean court has sentenced opposition figure Aliou Bah to two years in prison for “insulting and defaming” the head of the ruling junta, General Mamady Doumbouya.
The verdict, delivered on Tuesday in Kaloum, Conakry’s administrative district, highlights growing concerns about freedom under military rule since the 2021 coup that ousted former civilian president Alpha Conde.
Aliou Bah, leader of the Liberal Democratic Movement (MoDel), was accused of criticising the junta’s National Committee of Reconciliation and Development (CNRD) as “incompetent” and urging Guinean religious leaders to speak out about the state of the nation.
He was arrested in late December while travelling to neighbouring Sierra Leone and subsequently charged with defaming General Doumbouya.
Bah’s lawyers strongly opposed the ruling, describing the trial as an attack on freedom of expression and calling the allegations against him baseless.
The sentencing is part of a broader trend of repression under Doumbouya’s military rule. Since the coup, numerous opposition figures have been detained, exiled, or brought before the courts.
Criticism of the junta has mounted as opposition groups accuse it of authoritarianism. Civil society leaders arrested in July remain missing, and the deaths of a former army chief of staff, a former deputy junta leader, and a doctor in unclear circumstances have further fuelled concerns.
Promises of a Return to Constitutional Rule
In his New Year’s address, General Doumbouya pledged that 2025 would be “a crucial electoral year to complete the return to constitutional order” but provided no specific details or timelines.
Critics view this as an attempt to placate international pressure while continuing to suppress dissent within the country.
Human rights organisations and opposition leaders have called for stronger international attention to Guinea’s deteriorating political and civil liberties under military rule.
