Artisanal gold miners sit inside the Economic and Financial Crimes Court during their appearance in Conakry on November 11, 2026. The trials of 1,263 people arrested in Guinea as part of the fight against illegal gold mining opened on November 10 before several courts, AFP learned from judicial sources. They mark the start of a vast judicial process following the total ban on clandestine gold panning, which came into effect on November 2 in the Siguiri region (northeast), an important gold-producing area of the country. Because of the high number of defendants, the Supreme Court distributed those arrested among various jurisdictions in Conakry and Lower Guinea (west). (Photo by Adrien MAROTTE / AFP via Getty Images)