Guinea charges police officer with murder of protester

Guinea's public prosecutor has charged a military police officer with the murder of a student protester earlier this month, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Conde had sparked widespread anger by changing the constitution to run for a third term. Guinea's military rulers have initiated legal proceedings against Conde and 26 of his officials over the deaths of dozens of people killed in protests against him.

Guinea's public prosecutor has charged a military police officer with the murder of a student protester earlier this month, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. One person was shot dead by security forces during a protest over fuel price hikes in the capital Conakry on June 1, according to the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), a political activist group.

The public prosecutor's office identified the victim as 20-year-old student Thierno Mamadou Diallo in a statement issued late on Monday. One gendarme has been charged with murder and four police officers charged with failure to act, it said. The protest was the most serious unrest in the West African country since a military junta took power last year, ousting former President Alpha Conde. Conde had sparked widespread anger by changing the constitution to run for a third term.

Guinea's military rulers have initiated legal proceedings against Conde and 26 of his officials over the deaths of dozens of people killed in protests against him. But they also ordered legal proceedings against the people who organised the protests. The junta, led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, banned all public demonstrations in May after facing criticism for its proposed 36-month transition to elections.

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