Guinean lawyer, former president of the Guinean Bar Association and former member of the National Transitional Council, Mohamed Traoré, was abducted and brutally assaulted in the hours between June 20 and 21, 2025. Traoré, known for his outspoken criticism of both the ruling regime and the opposition, was savagely beaten for several hours.
According to media reports and family accounts, hooded assailants arrived at his residence late on June 20. Although they did not harm Traoré immediately, one of the attackers slapped his daughter when she tried to intervene.
During his captivity, Traoré was subjected to severe torture. A statement from the Guinean Bar Association revealed that he was pinned to the ground, whipped up to 500 times, beaten, suffocated with a cloth, and threatened with death.
One of the assailants reportedly told him, “If it were up to me, I would kill him and that would be the end of it.” The attackers described the assault as a “warning” in retaliation for Traoré’s recent high profile resignation from the CNT and his continued public commentary on Guinea’s governance challenges.
Traoré was eventually found abandoned in the town of Coyah, approximately 50 kilometres from the capital, Conakry. He was severely injured and had to be rushed to hospital for urgent medical care.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) strongly condemns this barbaric attack against Traoré simply for stepping down from the CNT and sharing his perspectives about the situation in Guinea.
We demand that the government of Guinea, as a matter of urgency, initiates investigations into the assault against Traoré and ensure that all perpetrators are held accountable.
We also call on all human rights actors within Guinea and across West Africa to join in this call to bring pressure to bear on the Guinean government to ensure the attack against Mohamed Traoré does not become yet another example of impunity.
The perpetrators of this heinous act must be identified and brought to justice without delay. Failing to act on this heinous crime would signal tolerance for violence against civic expression and embolden future abuses.
