Violations of freedom of assembly and the right to protest

On Saturday 12 October 2019, members of the security forces wearing balaclavas burst into the private home of the coordinator of the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC) – a coalition of opposition parties, trade unions and civil society groups – where a meeting was being held. The FNDC members attending the meeting were arrested. Five of them were sentenced to up to one year in prison for having called for peaceful protest. The arrests took place less than 48 hours before the peaceful demonstration scheduled for Monday 14 October to denounce the new draft constitution that would allow President Alpha Condé to remain in power for a third consecutive term. Several thousand people attended the protest, during which two people were killed and 13 others were injured. Dozens of demonstrators were also sentenced to one year in prison for attending an “illegal gathering”.