Guinea's media regulator has suspended a news website and banned a television station from the same private group, accusing one of bias in the campaign for the September 21 constitutional referendum and the other of "illegal activity," according to a statement released Saturday evening.

Guinea is due to hold a referendum on 21 September, called by General Mamadi Doumbouya and intended to pave the way for a return to constitutional order, while the opposition accuses him of wanting to use the referendum to seize power.

The ruling junta is accused of restricting media freedom by blocking or suspending media outlets. According to journalists, it has arrested and subsequently released several journalists. One of them, Habib Marouane Camara, who runs the website Lerevelateur224, has been missing since December.

The High Authority for Communication (HAC) said in its press release that it had sanctioned the news website guineematin.com "until further notice" for "failing to respect the principles of equality, neutrality and balance in current affairs during the referendum campaign and for violating current regulations."

It decided to "ban" the web TV guineematintv for "illegal and non-compliant activity." The HAC did not specify the facts attributed to these two organizations.

The Forum of Social Forces of Guinea (FFSG), a citizens' movement opposed to the referendum, denounced "repressive measures" in a statement sent to AFP on Sunday.

On September 1, the HAC suspended the private news website Guinee360.com for three months, starting September 1, "for professional incompetence and manipulation of information."

Guinea's opposition and civil society have condemned the referendum called by General Doumbouya, who came to power in September 2021 after overthrowing elected civilian President Alpha Condé, who had been in power for more than 10 years.

The draft Constitution submitted to referendum, made public at the end of June, does not explicitly state whether or not General Doumbouya will be able to run in the next presidential election.

The "transitional charter" established by the junta after the coup d'état prohibited any member of the junta, the government or the head of the transitional institutions from standing in elections and the adoption of this new Constitution could remove this barrier.