Almamy Kalla Conté, the founder of the Guineelive.com news website, has been suspended for six months by the Guinean Online Press Association (Association Guinéenne de la Presse en Ligne-Aguipel).
In a communiqué issued by Aguipel and signed by its president, Amadou Tham Camara, the Association said Conté will not be “entitled any benefit whatsoever.” These denied benefits include state subsidies given to Aguipel to share among its members, training programmes, and sponsored travels.
Almamy Kalla Conté is being accused of posting an article that called Antonio Souaré– owner of the biggest lottery company in the capital– a drug trafficker.
“Almamy Kalla Conté published this article by flouting all ethical rules,” the communiqué said. “The article seriously offends Mr. Antonio Souaré.”
Meanwhile, Conté has appealed for the suspension to be mitigated because the six month suspension will “seriously affect the survival” of his website.