Conakry – Guinean authorities on Tuesday arrested four police officers and a gendarme over the killing of a young man on the sidelines of a fuel price protest.
Conakry’s public prosecutor, Alphonse Charles Wright, told AFP the five members of anti-crime brigades were arrested “on his instructions” following the June 1 killing of 19-year-old Thierno Mamadou Diallo.
Diallo was shot dead during clashes between security forces and demonstrators.
This type of arrest is rare in Guinea, where rights defenders say security forces often use excessive force with impunity. The fact that the arrests were publicly announced is even more exceptional.
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The junta that overthrew President Alpha Conde last September promised to break with past practices – a commitment that Diallo’s shooting has put to the test.
It was one of the first civilian killings tied to clashes between security forces and demonstrators since Colonel Mamady Doumbouya seized power.
On Monday, the magistrate announced an intentional homicide investigation and ordered a list of all security forces who were present at the time.
Between 2019 and 2021, dozens of Guineans were killed – mostly by shooting – during demonstrations against Conde’s bid for a third term in office.
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Almost no police or gendarmes were held accountable.
The National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), which led the protests against Conde, had planned to demonstrate during Diallo’s burial, initially scheduled for Monday.
Such ceremonies have degenerated in the past, and the family decided to postpone the funeral.
It said Tuesday that it would bury Diallo in privacy in the suburbs of the capital Conakry.
“We don’t want any politicising on either side,” said Hamidou Diallo, a relative.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Pexels
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