CELLOU DIALLO BLOCKED FROM TRAVEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L CONAKRY 000610 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL ASEC GV SUBJECT: CELLOU DIALLO BLOCKED FROM TRAVEL Classified By: ECONOFF BRIANA WARNER FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Cellou Dalein Diallo, an opposition leader who was injured during Monday's violence, called the Embassy last evening to ask for personal protection. An aid for Cellou called PAS Press Assistant at 2145 to tell him that Cellou's passport had just been confiscated by the Beret Rouge. According to the aid, Cellou had sent an assistant to the airport to check him in for an Air France flight to Paris, where he would apparently be seeking medical treatment (reftel). When the assistant arrived at the airport, the Beret Rouge confiscated Cellou's passport. ¶2. (C) PAS Press Assistant promptly passed the information on to the appropriate personnel within the Embassy. He then received a call at 2200 from Cellou and his wife. Cellou confirmed the story about his passport being stolen, and asked the Embassy for help. He said that his health was quickly failing as "many parts of my body are broken," and he had to leave the country to seek medical treatment, as per his physician's orders. He also said that he had credible information that the Red Berets would return to harm him. He asked that the Embassy help get his passport returned to him. He also asked the Embassy to protect him from further attacks. ¶3. (C) Charge Brokenshire received a similar call from one of Cellou's UFDG party members. Embassy responded that they will register a formal complaint with the Guinean government asking them to respect human rights and Cellou's right to travel, given the absence of any warrants for his arrest. ¶4. (U) At 1100 this morning, Embassy received reports that Cellou was evacuated to Dakar around 930 this morning. According to news reports, President Wade of Senegal secured Cellou's release and provided a private aircraft for his travel. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) As noted in reftel, Cellou is a prominent figure among the Peul people, and his injuries have received a great deal of attention from members of that community. If it is true that President Wade provided the plane for Cellou's evacuation, it suggests that the Government of Senegal may be changing its position toward Dadis and the CNDD. BROKENSHIRE