Amnesty International denounces lack of investigation into activists' abduction

Nobody has heard of Oumar Sylla, known as Foniké Menguè, and Mamadou Billo Bah, for an entire year. Nobody knows their whereabouts.

The two Guinean activists, members of the now-dissolved National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), were arrested on 9 July 2024 at the latter's home in Conakry by armed men, before allegedly being taken by special forces to the Loos archipelago.

There, they have reportedly endured torture and interrogations.

Amnesty International has now called for "a prompt and transparent" investigation into the two activists' disappearance.

The two activists' fate is emblematic of the recent acceleration of forced disappearances and abductions, with Amnesty International denouncing a "climate of terror" by the junta in power in Guinea.

On 19 February 2025, the national coordinator of the Forum of Social Forces of Guinea (Forum des forces sociales de Guinée), Abdoul Sacko, was abducted and found the same day, according to his lawyers "in a critical state, tortured and abandoned by his abductors in the bush".

Another case is lawyer Mohamed Traoré. The former President of the Guinean Bar Association has testified that he was "subjected to abuse" after being abducted from his home on the night of 20 to 21 June 2025 by armed men.

"It's very, very difficult—very hard—for the families and loved ones of these individuals. We have had no communication from the Guinean state, let alone from the prosecutor who, during his only and single appearance, announced investigations into these disappearances. Since then, we've heard nothing," said Souleymane Sow, director of the Guinean branch of Amnesty International.

But as the radio silence from the authorities continues, the hope of finding the whereabouts of the activists soon is shrinking.