Relatives demand release of 10 political detainees

The families of 10 civilian political detainees who have been held without trial for the past nine months have submitted a petition to Guinean Justice Minister Mamadou Sylla demanding the prisoners'immediate release. The 10 men, who are mainly civil servants and businessmen with no background of involvement in politics, were arrested in December last year. They were detained following the arrest of dozens of military officers in November in connection with a suspected coup plot against President Lansana Conte. Most of the military detainees were released before a presidential election on 21 December, boycotted by the main opposition parties, which returned Conte to power for a further seven-year term. However, relatives said at least two military officers, including Major Kadr Dombouya, the former head of the army's airborne batallion, and Major Misbow Sowe, a senior officer in the army's training establishment, were still in custody. They said these officers and the 10 civilian detainees were all being held in Conakry's PM3 prison. Conte Yarie Jabbie, the wife of one the detained civilians, told IRIN that she and six other wives submitted a letter to the justice minister on Monday demanding the release of their husbands and three other men who are unmarried. Jabbie said the group was being held incomunicado and she questioned why it was taking the government so long to investigate the suspected conspiracy. The government has never publicly admitted arresting anybody in connection with the alleged coup plot. Jabbie said the Justice Minister asked the delegation of prisoners' wives to give him time to review the matter. Human rights organisations, including the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), have criticised conditions inside the PM3 jail as very poor. Relatives of the political detainees told IRIN they had not been allowed to visit their loved ones, but expressed concern that many of them had suffered health problems.