The Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

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/171/12(a)-R.1), and to the relevant resolution adopted at its 170th session (March 2002),

Recalling that Mr. Alpha Condé, President of the Rassemblement du Peuple de Guinée - RPG (Guinean People's Rally), at the time of the submission of the complaint 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, in flagrante delicto and hence without any previous lifting of his parliamentary immunity, for "attempting to leave the country clandestinely" and "assault and battery on members of the public order force"; he was charged in January 1999 with "attempt to cross borders, fraudulent export of foreign currency, attempt to recruit mercenaries and breach of State security"; an on­site mission the Committee carried out in January 2000 noted serious irregularities and violations of the Code of Penal Procedure during the investigation (mission report CL/166/16(c)-R.3); found guilty of all the charges against him, he was sentenced, on 11 September 2000, to five years' imprisonment after a trial which, as the IPU observers concluded, patently failed to meet international and national standards of fair trial (trial observer report CL/167/12(c)-R.3); on 18 May 2001, Mr. Condé was released after being pardoned by the President of Guinea, Mr. Lansana Conté,

Recalling that there exists ample public testimony of the fact that witnesses and co-accused in the trial were tortured without the authorities ever bringing to justice those responsible for such torture, identified by the victims,

Recalling that documentary evidence was provided of the fact that the Government of Guinea had recruited Liberian rebels to testify against Mr. Condé,

Recalling that, after his release, Mr. Condé took part in sittings of the National Assembly and resumed his political activities, but did not stand in the parliamentary election of June 2002,

1. Deeply regrets the persistent lack of cooperation and response from the executive authorities of Guinea, particularly given the serious issues involved;

2. Is therefore compelled to conclude that in arresting Mr. Condé on the spurious ground of "flagrante delicto", in prosecuting and sentencing him on fabricated charges and in failing to provide redress, the authorities of Guinea are guilty of a violation of Mr. Condé's parliamentary immunity as guaranteed in Article 52 of the Constitution of Guinea, and of a violation of his right to liberty and to fair trial as guaranteed in Article 9 of the Constitution, Articles 9 and 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Articles 14 and 7, respectively, of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, to both of which Guinea is a party;

3. Affirms that, in failing to institute an investigation into the testimony given in court as to the use of torture against witnesses and co-accused in the trial and in failing to provide redress for the victims of such torture, the authorities have failed in their obligation under Articles 12, 13 and 14 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which Guinea is a party;

4. Stresses that a "judgment" handed down after a patently rigged trial can have no legal force and must be deemed null and void;

5. Calls on the competent authorities, in particular the Head of State, to ensure that the authorities meet their obligations under the Constitution and the international human rights treaties that Guinea has ratified, and that they provide the required redress for victims of human rights violations;

6. Requests the Secretary General to inform the authorities and the sources accordingly, and to convey this resolution to international and regional human rights bodies and institutions;

7. Decides to close the case.

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