OPPOSITION POLITICAL PARTY ADMINISTRATOR ARRESTED

UNCLAS CONAKRY 001361 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR DRL SHARON COOKE AND AHMED NAIM E.O. 12598: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM GV SUBJECT: OPPOSITION POLITICAL PARTY ADMINISTRATOR ARRESTED ¶1. (SBU) On Saturday, December 15 between 6:00 and 7:00 in the evening, Mr. Lansana Komara was reportedly arrested and taken to prison. Komara is a professor at the University of Conakry and a member of the executive bureau of the Rally for the Guinean People (RPG) political party. According to an RPG contact, Mr. Komara is being held at PM3, a gendarmerie prison where the Guinean presidency has traditionally incarcerated individuals accused of plotting against the government. As a military prison, PM3 is outside the jurisdiction of the judiciary and generally inaccessible to civilians. ¶2. (SBU) Mr. Komara's wife reportedly visited him on Friday, December 21. According to the RPG, when she inquired as to the grounds for arrest, the gendarmes told her that they did not have any file on Mr. Komara. They said that Major Mamadouba Soumah, former Chief of Security for the President, took Komara to the prison and instructed prison officials to hold him there. Mr. Komara's wife reported that her husband had been beaten and had several dark bruises on his body. ¶3. (SBU) Press reports have speculated that Mr. Komara's arrest was politically motivated. An RPG contact told Embassy staff that they cannot say for sure whether the arrest was based on Mr. Komara's political party affiliation, but in the absence of any other charges, this is a logical conclusion. Reportedly, no one has had any contact with Mr. Komara since his wife's December 21 visit. Mr. Komara's lawyer visited the prison, but has not yet been granted access to Komara. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT. After 13 days of detention, there is still no information available as to the reasons for arrest or what charges may be eventually filed against him. If Komora's detention is related to his political party affiliation, it would represent the only politically motivated detention that the Embassy is aware of at this time. The arrest is in direct violation of Guinea's penal code, which stipulates that persons shall not be arrested from their homes between the hours of 4:30 PM and 6:30 AM. Furthermore, Guinean law forbids arbitrary arrest and detention. Embassy will raise concerns of potential human rights abuses with appropriate contacts at various levels of the Guinean Government. END COMMENT. CARTER