Committee to Protect Journalists - Guinea

Violence in Guinea leads to attacks on journalists, outlets

2013-03-20T18:58:14Z

Several journalists and news outlets covering political unrest in the capital, Conakry, were attacked in late February and March 2013, according to local journalists and news reports.

Guinean radio talk shows censored

2012-12-21T18:43:58Z

New York, December 21, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a series of censorship measures imposed this month by media regulators in Guinea against three popular current affairs talk shows stemming from news commentary critical of officials.

In Guinea, two journalists detained by police

2012-09-14T19:55:51Z

Police in Conakry, the capital, briefly detained two journalists on August 31, 2012, while they were interviewing protesters demonstrating against a massacre of villagers by security forces on August 3, 2012.

Guinean government censors private radio station

2012-08-30T17:21:57Z

Lagos, Nigeria, August 30, 2012--Authorities in Guinea closed a private radio station on Sunday, preventing the outlet from reporting on the next day's protests, according to news reports. Liberté FM has been targeted in the past, the reports said.

Guinean police beat journalist covering protest

2012-05-21T20:01:06Z

Police officers assaulted Alpha Oumar Diallo, a journalist for online newspaper Aminata, as he covered anti-government protests on May 10, 2012, in Conakry, the capital, according to news reports and local journalists.

Guinean journalist assaulted by police, no arrests made

2012-03-08T21:25:43Z

New York, March 8, 2012--Guinean authorities must investigate and bring appropriate charges against police officers who assaulted a journalist at the Central Bank of Guinea, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Reporter Kounkou Mara suffered head and other injuries in the attack.

Mara, a reporter for the privately owned Le Lynx, was denied entry to the Central Bank of Guinea on February 27 despite presenting her press identity card to officers and saying she was scheduled to interview the bank's governor, according to news reports. Officials told her she posed a security threat to the bank employees, then a commanding officer ordered her to be ejected, the journalist told a local newspaper.

Guinean president must end media censorship

2011-07-28T22:06:44Z

New York, July 28, 2011--Censorship of the press by the government of Guinean President Alpha Condé threatens the democratic strides made by the country in recent months, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Attacks on the Press 2009: Africa Developments

2010-02-16T05:02:50Z

Attacks on the Press in 2008: Africa Developments

2009-02-10T05:53:00Z

CPJ condemns ban of Guinean paper over editorial

2008-05-28T16:00:00Z

New York, May 28, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a two-month ban summarily handed to a Guinean independent newspaper last week over an editorial that raised critical questions about the health of President Lansana Conté’s second wife.

The state-run National Communications Council decided on the ban, which is the third suspension of a newspaper in Guinea this year, after private weeklies La Vérité and L’Observateur, according to CPJ research.

Attacks on the Press 2007: Africa Snapshots

2008-02-05T16:59:20Z

Attacks & developments throughout the region

Attacks on the Press 2007: Guinea

2008-02-05T16:16:00Z

During nationwide strikes and antigovernment demonstrations in January
and February, state security forces attacked Guinea's newly launched private radio stations, blocked print publications, and threatened journalists. More than 130 people were killed, mostly by government security forces, during protests that were unprecedented in size and popular support. The unrest was quelled in late February when President Lansana Conté agreed to appoint as prime minister Lansana Kouyaté, a respected diplomat who was backed by local trade unions. Kouyaté's appointment marked a departure from Conté's brutal and often capricious rule, and local journalists reported a decrease in harassment and censorship in its aftermath. Still, the president, who rarely appears in public and reportedly suffers from diabetes and other ailments, maintained de facto control over segments of Guinea's economy and political apparatus, and it remained unclear whether the transition would lead to long-term improvements for the Guinean press.

Two Guinean newspapers suspended, reporters banned

2008-01-04T17:00:00Z

New York, January 4, 2008—State regulators in the Guinean capital, Conakry, summarily suspended two private newspapers on Monday and barred their journalists from practice for three months. Local journalists and news reports say the bans were connected to December articles critical of top government officials.

Two Guinean newspaper directors handed suspended prison terms

2007-08-14T16:00:00Z

New York, August 14, 2007—A court in the Guinean capital of Conakry handed down suspended prison sentences on Monday to two private newspaper directors in connection with articles alleging corruption by a former government minister, according to local journalists.

Thiernodjo Diallo of La Vérité and Abdoul Azziz Camara of Libération were each sentenced to six-month prison terms, a total fine of 50 million Guinean francs (US$13,000), and ordered to publish the verdict, defense lawyer Christian Sow told CPJ. An appeal was filed this morning, according to Sow.

CPJ condemns media crackdown under martial law in Guinea

2007-02-14T17:00:00Z

New York, February 14, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports of increasing government crackdowns on the media after President Lansana Conté declared martial law on Monday in response to deadly unrest in the country.

112 people have died since union leaders launched a national strike last month to demand the resignation of ailing President Conté, in power since 1984, according to international news reports. An 18-day strike in January was called off by union leaders after President Conté promised to hand over powers to a prime minister, but resumed over the weekend after unions rejected the nomination of Eugene Camara.