Guinea's military ruler pardons opposition leader Aliou Bah on Independence Day
President Mamadi Doumbouya granted a presidential pardon to opposition figure Aliou Bah as part of a mass amnesty marking Guinea's independence.
Guinea's military president Mamadi Doumbouya issued a presidential decree on Independence Day that freed 217 inmates, among them opposition leader Aliou Bah, who heads the Liberal Democratic Movement. Bah had been held since December 2024 after a January 2025 sentencing to two years for “offending and insulting” the head of state, based on comments calling for religious leaders to break their silence and labeling the National Committee of Rally for Development as incompetent.
An appeals court upheld the sentence in May 2025, despite prosecutors seeking a five-year term, and the case had been taken to the ECOWAS Court of Justice, which urged his immediate release. The pardon occurs as rights groups and political opponents accuse Doumbouya's regime of suppressing dissent, dissolving parties, banning protests and arresting critics since the 2021 coup.
Why it matters
The release signals a rare concession by Guinea's military government amid growing criticism over its crackdown on opposition.
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