Amnesty International has condemned the Guinean authorities for failing to investigate the year-long disappearance of two prominent activists, Oumar Sylla (widely known as Foniké Menguè) and Mamadou Billo Bah, who were abducted on July 9, 2024.
The two men, both members of the now-dissolved National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), were reportedly taken from Bah’s home in Conakry by armed men believed to be special forces. Witness accounts suggest they were transported to the Loos Islands, where they were allegedly tortured and interrogated. Since then, no trace of them has been found.
Amnesty International is calling for a “prompt and transparent” investigation, warning that their disappearance reflects a growing pattern of politically motivated abductions under Guinea’s ruling military junta.
“The authorities have maintained total silence. There has been no update, no investigation results, no justice,” said Souleymane Sow, director of Amnesty International’s Guinea office. “This situation is devastating for their families and loved ones.”
The case of Sylla and Bah is not isolated. On February 19, 2025, Abdoul Sacko, coordinator of the Forum of Social Forces of Guinea, was abducted and later found in the bush in critical condition after reportedly being tortured. More recently, lawyer and former Bar Association president Mohamed Traoré was abducted from his home overnight on June 20–21, 2025. He later testified to being mistreated while in captivity.
These incidents, Amnesty warns, are part of a disturbing trend aimed at silencing dissent and creating a “climate of terror.”
Despite an initial statement from the public prosecutor announcing an investigation into the disappearances, no official update has followed. For the families and human rights defenders, each day of silence deepens the fear that the activists may never return.
With mounting concern over the junta’s crackdown on civil society, international pressure is building for Guinea to account for the fate of its missing citizens and restore the rule of law.
