Illegal gold mining in Siguiri: foreigners sentenced to up to 2 years
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Visionguinee
Conakry’s public prosecutor’s office announced prison terms of 18 months to two years for foreign illegal miners in Siguiri, along with a ban from the country of up to ten years. More than 1,300 people have been detained as part of the fight against illegal mining, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
Hearings for defendants prosecuted for illegal mining in Siguiri were held from 10 to 12 November before several courts in Conakry and its outskirts, after the transfer of the proceedings was ordered by the Supreme Court for public security reasons, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Conakry Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court ordered on 9 November that the Siguiri Court of First Instance be removed from the case and that the files be referred to courts under the jurisdiction of the Conakry Court of Appeal. The prosecutions are based in particular on the Mining Code, the Environmental Code, the Forestry Code and Guinea’s law on the entry and stay of foreigners, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said.
