Guinea plans prosecution of ex-president

CONAKRY, Guinea — Guinea authorities say they will prosecute former President Alpha Conde and 26 of his officials for violence surrounding his bid for a contentious third term in office.

The 84-year-old former leader was overthrown in a coup d’etat in September by a military junta that now leads the West African country.

The ex-president and his supporters are accused of several charges including complicity in murder, abductions, torture, and illegal detentions, according to documents from the General Prosecutor’s Office signed by Attorney General Charles Alphonse Wright. He ordered the district attorney to immediately begin legal proceedings against Conde.

Guinea’s electoral violence in 2020 killed at least 12 people in the capital and 50 people in other parts of the country, according to the document.

Conde’s bid to extend his rule to a third term, after backing a constitutional referendum that altered the term limits, sparked violent demonstrations. He ultimately won another five-year term in October 2020 only to be ousted in September last year.

Though the ruling junta said in April that Conde was free to move within the country, the new charges likely mean he will be kept under house arrest. Conde currently lives in Conakry at his wife’s residence.