Guinea President pardons 171, including opposition figure

December 25, 2015 8:09 AM

Bah was a founder and the number two in the UFDG party, currently headed by Cellou Dalein Diallo, who came second to Conde in an October presidential election.

Guinea's President Alpha Conde arrives for a meeting with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

Guinea President Alpha Conde on Thursday pardoned 171 people convicted by the justice system, including a leading opposition figure accused of involvement in a plot to assassinate the West African leader, state-owned television said.

Mamadou Oury Bah, known as Bah Oury, was on a list of those whose sentences were partially or totally revoked by a presidential decree.

Bah was a founder and the number two in the UFDG party, currently headed by Cellou Dalein Diallo, who came second to Conde in an October presidential election.

He was convicted along with five others and given a life sentence for his alleged involvement in a 2011 assassination attempt against Conde. He lives in exile in France.

In an act viewed by some as a potential easing of tensions, Conde met with Bah in Paris following his re-election.

Conde is attempting to unite his country and revive the economy of Africa's biggest bauxite producer, which also possesses large iron ore reserves, following a crippling commodities crash and a regional Ebola epidemic.