People walk under a campaign billboard for President Alpha Conde in Conakry, Guinea, on October 12, 2020. CPJ recently joined a letter calling on the Guinean government to maintain internet access throughout the presidential election. (AFP/John Wessels)

CPJ joins letter calling on Guinea government not to disrupt internet access

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 35 other press freedom and human rights organizations in a letter calling on authorities in Guinea to maintain the stability and openness of all digital communication channels before, during, and after the presidential election scheduled for October 18.

The letter emphasized the importance of the internet and other communication tools for journalists to safely report on the election and its outcome. It also noted two disruptions of the internet and social media in Guinea this year, on March 21 and 22, during a constitutional referendum that granted President Alpha Condé the ability to run for a third term.

The letter called on Condé and the Guinean government to ensure the public that the internet will not be disrupted during the election, and to order the country’s internet service providers to provide quality, secure, and open internet throughout the coming days, and to transparently remedy any outages or disruptions that may occur.

The letter is available in full here