Soldiers Assault Journalist for Taking Photos of Demolition Operation

On May 24, 2022, Ahmed Sékou Nabé, a reporter for the radio station Espace FM in Kankan in Guinea, and two of his colleagues went to the Missiran district in the urban commune of Kankan. They had heard about a military operation to clear industries and citizens accused of having erected their buildings on state property.

Ahmed, who is also a correspondent for mediaguinee, an online news outlet, said he had his press card on him while covering the military operation when he was confronted by the deputy commander of the Soundjata Keita Military Camp in Kankan.

“He came to me and asked why I was taking pictures. I also told him that I am from the press. I showed him the press jacket and the badge I was wearing, but he wouldn’t listen. He pulled me and pushed me to the side of the road.

“He ordered me to hand over my phone, but I refused. He dragged me and with the help of another soldier they managed to snatch my phone. They wanted to delete everything. Other soldiers even told them to reset the phone, but it was locked. Colonel Kolipé forced me to use my fingerprint to unlock the phone. They accessed the gallery and deleted all the pictures that I had taken,” Ahmed Sékou Nabé explained his ordeal to the MFWA.

In the process of deleting the photos, Ahmed said, the deputy commander of the military camp, Colonel Kolipé, threatened to slap him if he uttered a word. The commander further threatened to arrest and process the journalist to court should he see any photo of the operation on the web.