HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER PROVIDES DIFFERENT VIEW ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CONAKRY 000296

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ELAB PREL ASEC GV
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER PROVIDES DIFFERENT VIEW ON
BAR'S DISCUSSIONS WITH DADIS

REF: CONAKRY 0287

Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D


1. (C) SUMMARY. Comments from one of the country's leading
lawyers and human rights advocates, Maitre Mounir, indicate
that he is increasingly demoralized by the political
situation in Guinea. He described a heated and unproductive
meeting between the Bar Association and Dadis, which he
believes will not bring any concrete results. Mounir is
convinced that Dadis, who he referred to as an "imbecile," is
intent on staying in power and actively strategizing to make
that happen. Mounir also discussed a March military raid on
his residence. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Pol/Econ Chief met with Maitre Mounir Houssein
Mohammed, a respected high-profile Guinean lawyer, on May 22
to discuss the threatened lawyers' strike (reftel) and the
overall political climate. Under former Prime Minister
Kouyate, Mounir was appointed head of the Human Rights
Commission to investigate abuses committed during the period
of civil unrest in early 2007. Those investigations never
got off the ground, but Mounir is commonly viewed as an
outspoken defender of human rights and an advocate for the
rule of law. Mounir is believed to be of Lebanese descent,
but is a native-born Guinean.

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PERSPECTIVE ON THE BAR'S MEETING WITH DADIS
--------------


3. (C) A member of the Guinean Bar Association, Mounir's
account of internal discussions among members of the Bar and
the meeting with Dadis were quite different from those of his
colleague, Maitre Sampil (reftel). Mounir agreed that the
military's extensive human rights abuses and misapplication
of justice need to be addressed, but told his colleagues that
it would be inappropriate for the Bar to meet with Dadis.
"This man is not the president...he is nothing more than the
head of his own self-perpetuating committee...meeting with
him legitimizes his authority," Mounir told Pol/Econ Chief.
He reportedly told his colleagues that if they wanted to meet
with Dadis, they should insist that it take place in an
official government venue, not at Camp Alpha Yaya. The Bar
decided to go ahead with the meeting and Mounir decided to
stay home. The following details about the meeting were
relayed to Mounir by several of his lawyer colleagues.


4. (C) Commenting on a group of women that temporarily
blocked the Bar's access to the camp, Mounir said that
Conakry Governor Diop had organized the demonstration as a
display of support for Dadis. (COMMENT. Diop is believed to
have orchestrated the pro-Dadis youth rally in March. END
COMMENT). "The military were there to protect the women who
were loudly insulting the lawyers," Mounir said.


5. (C) Once the representative group, which included large
numbers of both judges and lawyers, made it to Dadis' waiting
room, they were made to wait for an hour. During that time
period, Dadis' staff reportedly came back and forth several
times to tell them that Dadis could not receive everyone
because there wasn't room. The first time the staff came
back, they told the group to select 30 lawyers and 30 judges.
By the time they came back for the fourth time, after
repeatedly changing the numbers, the staff insisted that only
one lawyer and 15 judges would be accommodated. "It was a
joke," Mounir said.


6. (C) After filing into Dadis's office, Dadis immediately
started to berate and insult the group for a full 19 minutes.
Mounir said that one of the lawyers set his stopwatch until
it was over. Dadis reportedly told everyone that they should
be ashamed of themselves, that they should take off their
judicial robes, and that if they continue to behave
inappropriately, he would replace them. According to Mounir,
a couple of lawyers from the Forest Region are close to Dadis
and were providing inside information to him before the
meeting. "He knew exactly what they were going to say and he
was ready," Mounir said.


7. (C) Dadis eventually listened to the Bar's complaints and
reportedly told them that they should meet with the Prime
Minister and the Minister of Justice to address their issues.
"It was all for show," Mounir said, adding "the Prime
Minister has no power and he wants us to go meet with him to
abolish a parallel court operating out of Camp Alpha Yaya
that Dadis himself authorized? Nothing will come of it."

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CONAKRY 00000296 002 OF 003


THE "IMBECILE" AT THE TOP
--------------



8. (C) Several times during the discussion, Mounir referred
to Dadis as an "imbecile." At one point, he compared him to
Hitler and Stalin. He said Dadis has no intention of leaving
power and is actively courting supporters so as to reinforce
his hold on power. Leaning over conspiratorially, Mounir
told Pol/Econ Chief "you know, you have to understand that
some Africans think that Westerners are stupid. You say
exactly what you think and you mean it. We don't say what we
think, but rather what will please you. You have to look at
what we don't say and that is where you will really see what
is going on." Mounir said that Dadis has privately declared
that Sekou Toure ran the country for 25 years without any
help from the international community and that he can do the
same.

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SECURITY ABUSES AND ABSOLUTE IMPUNITY
--------------


9. (C) Clearly disturbed by the military's continued
impunity and abuse of civilians, Mounir said he himself had
been the victim of a military search of his residence. He
described how a group of Red Berets showed up at his house in
March and started pounding on the door at 2:00 in the
morning. His guard sent them away, but they returned at 3:00
with a higher ranked officer. They reportedly beat on the
door warning that they would shoot if the door was not
opened. Mounir went down to open the door and was told that
they were on an official CNDD mission and were authorized to
search his residence for narcotics. When Mounir asked for an
official document to that effect, the officer claimed to have
left the paperwork in his office. Mounir stated that
everyone was clearly drunk.


10. (C) The men proceeded to search the house for 15
minutes, but found nothing. Mounir said that once they were
let in, they were actually quite professional. Nothing was
stolen and no one was mistreated. "If it had been during
daylight hours with proper documentation, I would have
thought nothing of it...but 2:00 in the morning?," Mounir
said. Mounir later called the Minister of Justice to
complain. A few days later, the Minister reportedly called
him to say that he had identified the perpetrators and that
they were being appropriately "sanctioned." Mounir told the
Minister that he wasn't interested in sanctions, but wanted
to file a law suit. He was discouraged from doing so.



11. (C) Mounir noted that cases like his are increasingly
common. He mentioned that a Lebanese friend of his had
rented a house and pre-paid the rent through the end of 2011.
The landlady then came to ask him to pay through the end of
2012, but he refused. The landlady reportedly took the case
before the Bureau of Conflicts, which immediately ordered the
tenant to pay the additional year's rent or move out. He
decided to move out, forfeiting the pre-payment he had
already made. "These guys can't even write their names and
we expect them to administer justice?," Mounir said.

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COMMENT
--------------


12. (C) Mounir was clearly demoralized by the political
situation in Guinea. He said he had been fighting for human
rights and democracy for 20 years, but is considering leaving
or simply staying home. "I can fight the government, but I
cannot fight the people too and they are complicit, they are
letting this happen," he said. Mounir is well-educated,
articulate, and well off by Guinean standards. Although some
of his comments may seem extreme, they likely reflect a high
level of frustration. Mounir is someone who has spent his
adult life under the Conte regime as an advocate for
fundamental human rights and the rule of law. Now with Conte
gone, he seems discouraged by the fact that nothing appears
to be changing for the better.


13. (C) Although the current parallel justice system is
problematic on a number of levels, it is important to note
that the Guinean justice system has been inefficient and
endemically corrupt for years. These problems pre-date the
installation of the military junta. Many Guineans are just
as frustrated with the underlying lack of access to justice
as the lawyers are with the relatively new complications
introduced by the CNDD. END COMMENT.

CONAKRY 00000296 003 OF 003


RASPOLIC