A letter published on Tuesday by the Minister of Justice to the Attorney General of Conakry indicates that the ruling junta in Guinea has ordered new proceedings against former president Alpha Condé, whom it overthrew in a coup in 2021 for alleged acts of “treason”.

The former head of state from 2010 to 2021, in exile in Turkey since he was ousted, is already being prosecuted for alleged acts of “corruption”, as well as for “assassinations, acts of torture, kidnapping and rape”, in a country where the repression of political protests is often brutal.

“You are ordered (...) to institute legal proceedings for alleged acts of treason, criminal conspiracy and complicity in the illicit possession of arms and ammunition against Professor Alpha Condé, former President of the Republic,” wrote Justice Minister Alphonse Charles Wright.

“It has been brought to the attention of the Keeper of the Seals (...) that Alpha Condé, in connection with Mr. Fodé Moussa Mara,” a famous blogger who supports Mr. Condé, “has made the necessary efforts to obtain arms, ammunition and related materials,” Wright said in this public letter dated Monday.