Teen jailed for exam cheating in Guinea dies after sickle cell complications, father says

What the report says

Nile Post, carrying BBC reporting, says a 17-year-old Guinean student, Mamadou Djouma Bah, died after his health worsened while he was serving a prison sentence linked to alleged cheating in a national exam. Prosecutors said the teenager, who had sickle cell disease, was moved to hospital after deteriorating in detention and later died while under medical supervision.

According to the report, Bah was accused of using a mobile phone during Guinea’s national school-leaving baccalaureate on 15 July and was arrested alongside other students suspected of exam fraud. Two days later, he was convicted and given a six-month sentence, with five months suspended, leaving him to serve one month in a prison in Kindia, north-east of Conakry.

His father, Mamadou Saliou Bah, told the BBC he holds the authorities responsible and is seeking an investigation, saying his son did not receive adequate care while detained. The report says the teenager was treated at a regional hospital for about two days before being discharged to go home, where officials said he died. Guinea’s education minister, Alpha Bacar Barry, expressed sadness and sent condolences to the family.

Human rights groups are also calling for an independent inquiry into the death and the prosecution of other students. Students reportedly demonstrated on Wednesday to demand the release of classmates still in custody. The case has drawn attention both to the use of imprisonment in exam-cheating cases and to the health risks faced by detainees with sickle cell disease, a lifelong condition that can cause serious pain, infections and other complications.