Guinea: death penalty: Sekou Bangoura
Sergeant Sekou Bangoura was sentenced to death on 6 June 1995. He was convicted of causing the deaths of three people and injuring others after throwing a grenade into a bar in Conakry on 10 May 1995.
EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: AFR 29/03/95
Distr: UA/SC
EXTRA 76/95 Death penalty 23 June 1995
GUINEA Sékou Bangoura (m)
On 6 June 1995, Sergeant Sékou Bangoura was sentenced to death by Conakry Assizes
Court. Although he still has the right to appeal to a higher court and to
petition the President for clemency, President Lansana Conte has reportedly
already stated that he does not intend to grant clemency in this case. Amnesty
International fears that Sékou Bangoura may be executed in the near future.
Sékou Bangoura is alleged to have thrown a grenade into a bar in the Gbessia
suburb of Conakry after a dispute over money on the night of 10 May 1995: three
people were killed in the incident and several others were injured. He was
convicted of murder under Article 251 of the Penal Code. His lawyer has already
lodged an appeal against the conviction and sentence; it is not known when
the appeal will be heard.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty without reservation. It
considers the death penalty to be incompatible with the right to life and the
right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment as proclaimed
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Nowhere has it been shown that
the death penalty has any special power to reduce crime or political violence.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International fears that, while no judicial death sentences are known
to have been passed since the mid 1980s, more may be passed in the near future.
The government announced in late 1994 that it would be taking a strong stance
against rising crime, including armed robbery and, in December 1994, government
spokesperson Ibrahima Sylla told reporters that the death penalty would from
now on be enforced against armed robbers and those found guilty of murder.
Under the Penal Code a wide range of offences carry a mandatory death penalty.
These include premeditated murder, poisoning, the murder of either parent,
murder committed in the course of another offence, the destruction of buildings
by arson or explosives and large-scale embezzlement of public funds. Other
capital offences relate to the security of the state. The law provides for
the right to appeal for those sentenced to death and stipulates that executions
cannot be carried out until the head of state has considered and rejected appeals
for clemency. Execution is by firing squad.
Sékou Bangoura's trial and sentencing have taken place against a backdrop of
another highly-publicised armed robbery trial: the 40 defendants are accused
of murder, criminal association and armed robbery. A day after their arrest,
16 other defendants were killed in mysterious circumstances in prison on 31
December 1994, according to the state prosecutor, Monsieur André Safela Lenaud,
during a prison brawl. There are widespread fears that some or all of them
were secretly killed in custody.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/telexes/faxes/express and airmail
letters either in French or in your own language:
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- expressing concern at the passing of the death sentence on Sékou Bangoura
on 6 June 1995 and urging that the sentence be commuted if it comes before
the President for clemency;
- stating that Amnesty International, while not condoning the crime for which
Sékou Bangoura was convicted, is unconditionally opposed to the death penalty
in all cases on the grounds that it is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment
which violates the right to life and which has not been shown to have any special
deterrent effect;
- urging the government to commute death penalties in all cases.
APPEALS TO:
President Lansana CONTE
Président de la République
Conakry
Republic of Guinea
Faxes: + 224-41-1621/1623/1673
Telexes: 623
Telegrams: Président Lansana Conte, Conakry, Guinea
Salutation: Monsieur le Président / Dear President
Minister of Justice
Monsieur Salifou SYLLA
Ministre de la Justice
Ministère de la Justice
Conakry
Republic of Guinea
Telegrams: Ministre de la Justice, Conkry, Guinea
Salutation: Monsieur le Ministre / Dear Minister
Minister of the Interior and Security
Monsieur Alseny René GOMEZ
Ministre de l'Intérieur et de la Sécurité
Minstère de l'Intérieur et de la Sécurité
Conakry
Republic of Guinea
COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO:
Procurator
Procureur de la République
c/o Palais de Justice
Conakry
Republic of Guinea
L'Indépendent, BP 242, Conakry, Republic of Guinea
Le Lynx, BP 4968, Conakry, Republic of Guinea
HOROYA, BP 341/191, Conakry, Republic of Guinea
and to diplomatic representatives of Guinea accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat,
or your section office, if sending appeals after 4 August 1995.