CASE N° GUI/04 - ALPHA CONDÉ - GUINEA

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council
at its 165th session (Berlin, 16 October 1999)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the outline of the case of Mr. Alpha Condé, a member of the National Assembly of Guinea, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/165/12(b)­R.1), and to the relevant resolution adopted at its 164th session (April 1999),

Taking account of the information and observations supplied at two different hearings by members of the Guinean delegation to the 102nd Conference belonging to the majority and the minority, respectively,

Recalling that Mr. Alpha Condé, President of the Rassemblement du Peuple de Guinée - RPG (Guinean People's Rally), a member of the National Assembly and a candidate in the presidential elections of December 1998, was arrested on 15 December 1998 prior to the announcement of the provisional election results and without any prior lifting of his parliamentary immunity; that he was charged in January 1999 with "attempt to cross borders, fraudulent export of foreign currency, attempt to recruit mercenaries and breach of internal and external State security",

Considering that the following information was supplied regarding the conduct of the investigations and Mr. Condé's trial:

• According to the sources and the international press, the case was to be heard on 7 September 1999, but was adjourned; according to the members of the Guinean delegation belonging to the majority, the trial had never been set for 7 September, this being a piece of false information put out by the media; however, according to the Minister of Justice, Mr. Condé's trial is nevertheless imminent,
• Mr. Condé will be tried by a National Security Court whose composition was determined by Presidential Decree N° 99/077/PRG/SGG of 4 August 1999 and which includes military officers. According to the sources, that court does not offer the necessary guarantees of fair trial and is not competent to judge the case. According to the members of the Guinean delegation belonging to the majority, the State Security Court has jurisdiction on account of the involvement of military personnel in the crime of breach of internal and external national security of which Mr. Condé stands accused,
• According to Mr. Condé's lawyers, the procedure of the examining magistrate is known only to the State lawyers; no procedural file had been communicated to them so far. Furthermore, the lawyers say that the State lawyers have already been paid part of their fees,

Recalling that it had expressed deep concern at the fundamentally divergent accounts of the circumstances of Mr. Condé's arrest, the conditions of his detention and his state of health; that, these matters not having been clarified, the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, at is 86th session, considered that only an on-site mission would enable it to ascertain the situation of Mr. Condé and that it had expressed the hope that such a mission would be consented to by the authorities

Considering that, according to the information conveyed to it by the members of the Guinean delegation belonging to the majority, the National Assembly has given its tentative agreement to such a mission,

1. Thanks the members of the Guinean delegation for the information and observations they supplied;
2. Considers that, in view of the evidence on file, the grounds for an on-site mission are still valid and is therefore gratified at the tentative agreement of the National Assembly to an on-site mission of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians;
3. Therefore requests the Secretary General to take the necessary steps with a view to organising such a mission, which it hopes can be received in the near future;
4. Observes that the mission's aim would be to gather information on Mr. Condé's case from the parliamentary and the competent judicial, government and administrative authorities on the one hand and, on the other, from Mr. Condé in prison, his lawyers and family, and any other suitable source of information; points out that, in accordance with IPU mission rules, visits to detained persons must take place in the absence of any official;
5. Expresses deep concern at the allegation that the procedure of the examining magistrate is known only to the State lawyers and that no procedural file has apparently been communicated so far to the defence lawyers; recalls that respect for the rights of the defence is an essential ingredient of the right to fair trial;
6. Would appreciate receiving a copy of the indictment together with information on the jurisdiction of and procedure applied by the National Security Court and their legal foundations;
7. Requests the Secretary General to convey this decision to the President of the National Assembly and the competent authorities;
8. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (April-May 2000).

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