VZCZCXRO1136
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #1361 3621221
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281221Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1997
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CONAKRY 001361 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR DRL SHARON COOKE AND AHMED NAIM 
 
E.O. 12598:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM GV
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION POLITICAL PARTY ADMINISTRATOR ARRESTED 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) On Saturday, December 15 between 6:00 and 7:00 in the 
evening, Mr. Lansana Komara was reportedly arrested and taken to 
prison.  Komara is a professor at the University of Conakry and a 
member of the executive bureau of the Rally for the Guinean People 
(RPG) political party.  According to an RPG contact, Mr. Komara is 
being held at PM3, a gendarmerie prison where the Guinean presidency 
has traditionally incarcerated individuals accused of plotting 
against the government.  As a military prison, PM3 is outside the 
jurisdiction of the judiciary and generally inaccessible to 
civilians. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Mr. Komara's wife reportedly visited him on Friday, 
December 21.  According to the RPG, when she inquired as to the 
grounds for arrest, the gendarmes told her that they did not have 
any file on Mr. Komara.  They said that Major Mamadouba Soumah, 
former Chief of Security for the President, took Komara to the 
prison and instructed prison officials to hold him there.  Mr. 
Komara's wife reported that her husband had been beaten and had 
several dark bruises on his body. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Press reports have speculated that Mr. Komara's arrest was 
politically motivated.  An RPG contact told Embassy staff that they 
cannot say for sure whether the arrest was based on Mr. Komara's 
political party affiliation, but in the absence of any other 
charges, this is a logical conclusion.  Reportedly, no one has had 
any contact with Mr. Komara since his wife's December 21 visit.  Mr. 
Komara's lawyer visited the prison, but has not yet been granted 
access to Komara. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) COMMENT. After 13 days of detention, there is still no 
information available as to the reasons for arrest or what charges 
may be eventually filed against him.  If Komora's detention is 
related to his political party affiliation, it would represent the 
only politically motivated detention that the Embassy is aware of at 
this time.  The arrest is in direct violation of Guinea's penal 
code, which stipulates that persons shall not be arrested from their 
homes between the hours of 4:30 PM and 6:30 AM.  Furthermore, 
Guinean law forbids arbitrary arrest and detention.  Embassy will 
raise concerns of potential human rights abuses with appropriate 
contacts at various levels of the Guinean Government.  END COMMENT. 
 
 
CARTER