Guinea: more than 1,300 gold miners tried in Conakry, heavy sentences handed down
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Mosaiqueguinee
Conakry’s public prosecutor’s office made public the results of prosecutions over illegal gold mining in Siguiri, which led to more than 1,300 arrests. The Supreme Court transferred the Siguiri court’s cases to courts in Conakry, which examined the cases from 10 to 12 November 2026.
The Prosecutor General at the Conakry Court of Appeal said hearings on prosecutions linked to illegal mining in Siguiri were divided among several courts in the capital and its outskirts from 10 to 12 November 2026. The reorganisation was decided after the Supreme Court, acting on a referral from the public prosecutor’s office because of the scale of the proceedings, removed the Siguiri Court of First Instance from the cases on 9 November.
Adult defendants found guilty received prison sentences of 18 months to two years, with some also banned from staying in Guinea for five to 10 years. The foreign nationals concerned must also be expelled from the country, according to the public prosecutor’s office.
The Kankan Court of First Instance also tried 122 other people arrested in the same operations and handed down prison sentences and bans from the territory, depending on the case. Minors were referred to the competent specialised courts, according to the public prosecutor’s office.
These hearings follow the opening in Conakry of the trial of 1,200 illegal gold miners, on 12 November. They also follow the arrest of 1,263 illegal gold miners in Siguiri, announced on 8 November.
