Security forces killed three in election run-up - Amnesty

October 22, 2015 1:13 PM

"There could be no justification for firing at these unarmed people, and no excuse for failing to hold those suspected of criminal responsibility to account," said Francois Patuel, Amnesty's West Africa researcher, in a statement.

Guinea security forces killed three in election run-up: Amnesty

Security forces in Guinea shot two unarmed people in the back and beat another person to death in the lead up to elections this month, human rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday.

Gendarmes killed a 24-year-old driver as he walked to his brother's house, a 20-year-old carpenter in an alley and clubbed a student aged 20 to death with truncheons and left his body on a rubbish dump, said Amnesty of the killings in the capital.

"There could be no justification for firing at these unarmed people, and no excuse for failing to hold those suspected of criminal responsibility to account," said Francois Patuel, Amnesty's West Africa researcher, in a statement.

Government spokesman Damantang Camara said he was aware of Amnesty's statement.

"The cited security forces immediately launched an internal investigation to verify this information and eventually sanction the culprits, whether they are security forces or civilians," Camara said.

President Alpha Conde won a second five-year term with a clear majority in the election on Oct. 11. The opposition has rejected the results as fraudulent.

Conde took power in 2010, ending two years of military rule marked by a massacre by security forces of more than 150 people at a stadium in the capital in 2009. The country gained independence from France in 1958 and until 2008 had been ruled by only two presidents, both authoritarian.

Guinea passed a law in June to regulate firearms used by the security forces and reduce electoral violence, but Amnesty said no officer has been charged over the pre-election killings.