CONAKRY, Feb 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A well-known critic of Guinea's military rulers has been discovered "tortured" and in a "critical state" after gunmen abducted him from his home, his lawyers told AFP on Thursday.

Abdoul Sacko was abducted on Wednesday by masked assailants who broke into his home through the ceiling, sparking an outcry across the west African country.

Sacko's Forum of Active Forces movement, which calls for the return of civilian rule in Guinea, had denounced his disappearance as a "kidnapping" and pointed the finger at the ruling junta.

Since taking power in a 2021 coup, Guinea's army junta has been accused of cracking down on the opposition while silencing dissenting voices.

"Our client was found yesterday evening by locals in a critical state, tortured and abandoned by his captors", lawyers for Sacko said in a statement.

Sacko was found around 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the capital, near a base for an elite army battalion.

"Arrangements have been made for him to receive first aid in a clinic in Conakry," the statement said, adding that he was in "a (safe) place for health and security reasons".

Sacko's wife, Oumou Barry, told AFP the attackers had arrived at their home at four o'clock in the morning, the time for prayer. She said they had thrown Sacko to the ground, confiscated his phones, tied him up and took him away.

Traces of the break-in through the ceiling were still visible when an AFP reporter visited the site later on Wednesday.

- 'Unacceptable' -

Former president Alpha Conde, who was ousted in the 2021 coup, said Wednesday in a social media post that it was "yet another in a long line of unacceptable actions by the ruling junta, and part of their systematic violation of fundamental freedoms".

The US embassy in Guinea said it was "deeply concerned" by the disappearance and urged a swift investigation.

"Violence and terror are a reflection of dictatorial regimes that refuse to acknowledge differing views", the Guinean Organisation for the Defence of Human Rights (OGDH), saying that disappearances had become "commonplace".

Guinea is currently ruled by junta leader General Mamady Doumbouya.

The junta has routinely banned protests calling for the military to step down and has shut down several news outlets.

Sacko had previously been arrested on March 11, 2023 for his involvement in organising protests, although he was released later that same day.

Two other opposition figures who called for an end to military rule, Oumar Sylla, also known as Fonike Mengue, and Mamadou Billo Bah, have been missing since July 2024.

Aliou Bah, another opposition figure, in January was sentenced to two years in prison for "offence and defamation" against general Doumbouya.