CONAKRY – Former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo has been living in exile for several years. Facing charges before the Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Offenses (CRIEF), the leader of the UFDG rules out any imminent return to Conakry, citing serious risks to his safety and a deliberate attempt by the government to politically exclude him.

In an interview with RFI, Cellou Dalein Diallo justifies his long stay abroad by the security situation in Guinea.

“Look at the fate of General Sadiba Koulibaly, Colonel Célestin, and all these suspicious deaths in prison, not to mention the disappearances of Foniké, Billo Bah, Marouane… people who are clearly less dangerous than me,” he said.

The president of the UFDG claims to have perceived the excesses of the regime very early on.

“I started to denounce the excesses of the junta, especially its desire to seize power in defiance of its commitments. I understood that there was a risk. My friends and family advised me not to return, given the danger I represented to their plan to maintain power by force,” he explained.

When questioned by Christophe Boisbouvier, who reminded him of the government spokesperson's remarks that he was "dramatizing" the situation, Dalein replied:

"Where are Foniké Mengué and Billo Bah, who were preparing to demonstrate against the closure of radio stations? Where is the journalist Marouane Camara, who denounced the abuses of power? And General Sadiba Koulibaly, who advocated for the army to return to its barracks, wasn't he killed under torture according to several sources?"

The former Prime Minister accuses the authorities of having used the justice system to remove him from the political scene.

"I had a voice that carried weight. I was considered an enemy to be eliminated, or at the very least excluded from the electoral process. When they realized they could not eliminate me through the justice system due to a lack of solid cases, they decided to remove me from the electoral register," he lamented.

From his exile, Cellou Dalein Diallo continues to denounce the governance of the National Committee of the Rally for Development (CNRD) and pleads for a swift return to constitutional order in Guinea.