Guinea
Following the tide of democratic reform that swept Africa in the early
1990s, voters in 1991 approved a new constitution. In 1993 elections, former
dictator and military strongman Col. Lansana Conte became president. Although
the constitution provides for some freedom of expression, defamation and
slander are criminal offenses, and speech that personally insults the president
is considered seditious. Consequently, the deterioration of working conditions
in recent years for both local and foreign journalists in Guinea has been
marked by expulsions, arrests, and harassment under the guise of violations
of restrictive press laws.