Guinea opposition leader Aliou Bah freed after presidential pardon

Guinean opposition politician Aliou Bah, who was jailed for insulting junta leader General Mamadi Doumbouya, was granted a presidential pardon Friday after nearly two years behind bars.

The move frees one of the west African nation's key opposition figures at a time when rights groups and political opponents have accused Guinea's military rulers of tightening their grip on dissent since seizing power in 2021.

Doumbouya granted pardons to 217 prisoners to mark Guinea's independence day, according to a presidential decree read on state television by presidency secretary-general Amara Camara. Bah was among those named.

Bah, head of the Liberal Democratic Movement (Model), had been detained since December 2024. He was sentenced in January last year.

His release had not been expected until around December this year after being sentenced to two years for "offending and insulting" the head of state.

An appeals court upheld the sentence in May 2025 despite prosecutors seeking a five-year prison term.

Bah was convicted over remarks in which he called on Guinean religious leaders to "break their silence" about the country's political situation and described the ruling National Committee of Rally for Development (CNRD) as "incompetent".

His case had also reached the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

In a letter dated September 25, the regional court asked Guinea's Supreme Court to order Bah's immediate and unconditional release.

Doumbouya seized power in September 2021 after overthrowing president Alpha Conde, Guinea's first democratically elected leader.

He strengthened his hold on power after winning a December 2025 presidential election that was not contested by any major opposition challenger.

Opposition parties have accused the military authorities of systematically restricting political freedoms.

Several major political parties have been dissolved, demonstrations have been banned or dispersed by security forces, and a number of government critics have been arrested, convicted, forced into exile or have disappeared.