Ex-Guinea PM's prison sentence reduced on appeal

The leader of the opposition party Ibrahima Kassory Fofana GTP, takes part in demonstrations to demand transparency in elections in Conakry on February 27, 2012. [AFP]

An appeals court handed former Guinea prime minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana a reduced prison sentence Thursday for a conviction that included illicit enrichment and money laundering.

The body reduced Fofana's sentence to three years and nine months, from an initial February 2025 sentencing of five years by a special court for financial crimes (CRIEF) that was set up shortly after a military coup.

Fofana, who has been in prison since April 2022, headed the government under civilian president Alpha Conde from May 2018 until the military seized control in September 2021.

He was initially additionally found guilty of embezzling public funds but was acquitted of the charge Thursday.

His lawyers said they would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court arguing that Fofana was not guilty of anything and that the ruling contained numerous contradictions.

"Even though the sentence has been adjusted, we firmly believe in our client's innocence", his lawyer Sidiki Berete said.

The former prime minister did not appear in court, citing health issues, and he is expected to be released soon, having served his sentence while detained in a clinic.

The appeals chamber also ordered him to pay three billion Guinean francs (approximately $340,000) to the state and ordered the confiscation of some of his funds.

Fofana was accused of embezzling 15 billion Guinean francs earmarked for anti-Covid measures and economic and social programmes.

He was one of many former leaders, opposition figures and civil society members detained or brought to court after the military junta took control promising to combat endemic corruption.

In December, junta leader Mamady Doumbouya was elected president for a seven-year term in a vote in which all serious opposition was barred.

Under Doumbouya, several political parties have been suspended.

Demonstrations, prohibited since 2022, have been broken up, while opposition leaders and rights activists have been arrested, convicted or forced into exile.

The abduction or disappearance of opposition activists has also become more frequent.