Introduction
Presidential election and constitutional transition following the 2021 military coup
On 28th December 2025, Guinea held its first presidential election since the military coup of 5th September 2021, when junta chief General Mamady Doumbouya ousted former President Alpha Condé. The September 2021 coup occurred in the aftermath of Condé’s controversial reelection for a third term, which followed the adoption of a new 2020 constitution that bypassed the previous two-term presidential limit. This constitutional change sparked widespread protests and activism, which were met with a harsh crackdown by the government, further intensifying political tensions and unrest prior to the coup. In the December 2025 presidential elections, approximately 6.77 million Guineans, representing 45% of the population, registered to vote. Doumbouya won the election with 86.7% of the vote amid opposition claims of irregularities, social media restrictions, and the exclusion of key opposition figures. Opposition leaders, including former Prime Ministers Cellou Dalein Diallo and Sidya Touré, were barred from candidacy, leading their parties to boycott the election amid concerns over transparency and fairness. Furthermore, major opposition parties were suspended, with their key figures either detained, prohibited from running, or forced into exile, as in the case of Diallo of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea.
The presidential election followed a constitutional referendum held on 21st September 2025, during which three major political parties were suspended. In this referendum, voters approved a new constitution allowing members of the ruling junta to run for office by removing a prior ban, in the Transitional Charter, on military junta members contesting the elections. The revised Constitution extended presidential terms from five to seven years, renewable once, enabling Doumbouya to stand for re-election. The Constitution also introduced a residency requirement for presidential candidates, which effectively excluded opposition politicians living in exile from participating in the electoral process. This election marked the conclusion of a four-year transition process following the 2021 military coup.
UN High Commissioner urges Guinea to address arbitrary detentions and investigate forced disappearances
On 25th September 2025, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in a public statement, urged Guinea’s transitional authorities to release individuals arbitrarily detained or forcibly disappeared, including at least 10 persons reported missing since their arrest, such as activist Oumar Sylla (Foniké Mengué) and journalist Mamadou Billo Bah, as reported previously by the CIVICUS Monitor. Turk emphasised the need for independent investigations into these cases. Türk also called for the annulment of the presidential pardon granted to former junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara, convicted for his role in the 28th September 2009 stadium massacre, citing international law prohibiting pardons for such serious crimes. Camara was sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity in July 2024. To recall, on 28th September 2009, tens of thousands of people gathered at the stadium in Conakry to protest against the bid of the then head of the military junta, Moussa Dadis Camara, to run for president. Guinean security forces killed over 150 peaceful demonstrators and raped over 100 women. The security forces then covered up these crimes by sealing off the entrances to the stadium and morgues and removing the bodies to bury them in mass graves.
Report on the state of fundamental rights in Guinea under the military junta
In December 2025 Tournons La Page Guinée (TLP-Guinée), an independent civil society organisation, published a comprehensive report which presents a critical assessment of fundamental rights and civic space under Guinea’s military regime led by General Mamadi Doumbouya. The report reveals a stark contradiction between the transition government’s initial promises of freedom of expression, press liberty, and respect for human rights and its actual conduct, demonstrating that these commitments have not been honoured. The civic space in Guinea has undergone progressive closure marked by grave and repeated human rights violations, including arbitrary abductions followed by forced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, torture, and inhuman and degrading treatment, as well as unjustified detention of political opponents and pro-democracy activists. These systematic violations reflect a manifest intent to silence all critical voices regarding the governance of the National Committee for Rallying and Development (CNRD), compromising both Guinea’s democratic anchoring and political stability. TLP-Guinée emphasises that these grave and massive violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms require sustained vigilance and mobilisation from the international human rights and democracy advocacy community to pressure the Guinean government into taking concrete protective measures for citizens’ rights and the inalienable democratic rights of Guineans.
EXPRESSION
Journalist arrested for filming the aftermath of a natural disaster
On 24th August 2025 gendarmerie officers arrested journalist Mamadou Boullère Diallo, a correspondent for LeGuideInfo.net affiliated with Hadafo Media, while he was reporting on the aftermath of a landslide in Manéah, a rural commune located about 50 kilometres from Guinea’s capital, Conakry. During Diallo’s filming, gendarmerie officers instructed him to cease his activities, seized his phone and camera, and held Diallo for almost 24 hours at the Mobile Company 23rd Gendarmerie Unit. Diallo was released the following day without any formal charges, following interventions by his colleagues and the National Union of Press Professionals of Guinea (SPPG). Both the SPPG and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) denounced the arrest, urging the authorities to investigate the matter, return his equipment, and uphold press freedom.
Journalist Mamoudou Babila Keita’s family under attack
On 29th September 2025, two unidentified men abducted Adama Keïta, the 75-year-old father of renowned investigative journalist, Mamoudou Babila Keita. Mamoudou believes his father’s abduction is linked to his investigations and criticisms of the military junta's governance. He also noted that his uncle was forced to flee his home after receiving abduction threats for three days. Three days after the abduction, the Nzérékoré prosecutor opened investigation to identify the perpetrators.
Journalist Djiba Millimouno detained in Conakry
On 2nd October 2025 in Kipé, Conakry, officers from the High Command of the National Gendarmerie arrested journalist Djiba Millimouno, for alleged verbal abuse and violence. The arrest followed an argument he had with a blogger, Maya la Solution, concerning the kidnapping of journalist Mamoudou Babila Keïta’s father. Millimouno was detained from 2nd to 6th October and had a preliminary hearing on 6th October. Millimouno remained in custody until his final release on 8th October. Media organisations and colleagues advocated for the respect of press freedom and fair legal procedures.
Journalist detained and later released
On 1st October 2025, in the Kipé neighbourhood of Conakry, officers from the Gendarmerie’s Research Brigade arrested Djiba Millimono, a Guinean journalist who work for Hadafo Médias. This arrest followed a confrontation with pro-military transitional authorities blogger M’mahawa Kaba, known as “Maya la Solution,” over a video Kaba posted regarding the abduction of the father of exiled journalist Mamoudou Babila Keïta. Kaba accused Millimono of opposing the junta, leading to his arrest. Millimono was detained at the Directorate of Judicial Investigations of the High Command of the National Gendarmerie and investigated for “violence and public insults.” On 6th October, Millimono was referred to the Kaloum District Court which declined jurisdiction, resulting in Millimono’s return to custody. Millimono was released on 8th October, following mediation initiated by the high command of the National Gendarmerie with his lawyers.
Media regulator suspends several media outlets ahead of both referendum and presidential elections
On 22nd December 2025 in Conakry, Guinea’s media regulator, the High Authority for Communication (HAC), suspended the pan-African television channel Africa 24, accusing it of unauthorised electoral reporting and “illegal professional activity.” The suspension also includes removing Africa 24 from the Canal+ bouquet, which will prevent the channel from being accessed by viewers in Guinea. Africa 24 condemned the suspension as abusive, stating it had not deployed any resources on Guinean soil for election coverage since 14th December 2025 due to lack of authorisation, and that its broadcasts relied mainly on candidate-provided videos and press agency footage.
On 6th September 2025 in Conakry, the HAC suspended the news website Guineematin.com and banned its Web TV, accusing the latter of lacking equality, neutrality, and balance in coverage of the constitutional referendum held on 21st September. Web TV was further accused of engaging in “illegal and non-compliant activity.” Civil society groups like the Forum of Social Forces of Guinea (FFSG), which opposed the referendum, condemned the suspension as repressive, and expressed fears about the transparency of the referendum process and the state of freedom of information in Guinea. On 10th December 2025, HAC lifted the suspension of the news site Guineematin.com and its Web TV following an extraordinary meeting.
On 1st September 2025 in Conakry, the HAC imposed a suspension on the news website guinee360.com, effective until 1st December 2025. The HAC claimed the website had violated professional standards, accusing guinee360.com of “manipulating information” during their coverage of the referendum campaign. On 8th September, the HAC lifted the suspension, permitting guinee360.com to resume its activities, provided it strictly adhered to professional standards. This decision to lift the suspension followed an appeal by guinee360.com’s Director General, Abdrahmane Diallo, on 2nd September in which the media outlet pledged to “pay even closer attention to the balanced, objective, and professional handling of information.”
Several media outlets including West Africa TV have already been suspended under the military junta, as reported previously on the Monitor.
ASSEMBLY
Opposition crackdown and protest suppression ahead of Guinea’s constitutional referendum
On 5th September 2025, security forces disrupted a peaceful protest organised by the Forces Vives de Guinée (FVG), a coalition of opposition and civil society groups against the constitutional referendum of 21st September. FVG claims the referendum was intended to allow junta leader General Mamady Doumbouya to run for president in the 28th December 2025 elections, which was banned in the Transitional Charter. Security forces fired warning shots to disperse youth protesters who attempted to block roads by burning tyres in several neighbourhoods. To prevent the protests, on 3rd September, security forces reportedly arrested one FVG member of the protest organising committee. Additionally, four FVG local activists were reportedly abducted from their residences during the night of 4th September. Opposition leaders, including L’Union des forces démocratiques de Guinée (UFDG) spokesperson Souleymane Konaté, have since gone into hiding fearing further arrests. Abductions and enforced disappearances of FVG members reportedly continued. On 20th January 2026, FVG issued a statement accusing authorities of having abducted FVG members Néné Oussou Diallo and Sékou Camara.