Guinea Court Finds Former President Guilty of Stadium Massacre and Rapes
The former president of the West African nation of Guinea was found guilty on Wednesday of crimes against humanity for overseeing a massacre in a stadium and the mass rape of pro-democracy demonstrators 15 years ago, a landmark verdict long awaited by survivors and relatives of the 150 people who were killed.
The trial of the former president, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, as well as 11 others, including the former head of the presidential guard, government ministers and security officials, was seen as a test for the region in holding military rulers to account. It was televised in Guinea and followed avidly by many of the country’s 14 million citizens.
Captain Camara was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Lieutenant Aboubacar Diakité, the former head of the presidential guard, was sentenced to 10. The judge found six other defendants guilty and acquitted four, including a former health minister.
“Moussa Dadis Camara should be declared guilty of crimes against humanity on the basis of command responsibility,” said Ibrahima Sory II Tounkara, the judge in the trial, which was held in a courtroom built for the occasion in the capital, Conakry.
The massacre, which traumatized a generation of Guineans, happened on Sept. 28, 2009, when pro-democracy protesters were holding an enormous rally in a stadium in Conakry against Captain Camara, who had seized power in a coup in December 2008.
He was accused of overseeing the massacre, in which hundreds of security forces burst into the stadium and opened fire on the demonstrators.
In addition to those killed, hundreds of people were wounded and at least 109 women were raped or sexually assaulted, some with batons and bayonets, according to witness accounts and a 2009 United Nations investigation.
The bodies of those who had tried to flee or hide were found scattered across the stadium’s field and around its gates, walls and locker rooms.
Afterward, security forces tried to cover up the massacre, burying bodies in mass graves and sealing off the stadium, according to Human Rights Watch, which asserted that the abuses on and after Sept. 28 were premeditated and organized, and amounted to crimes against humanity.
For over a decade, survivors and victims’ family members tried to get justice for the massacre, to no avail. The elected government that followed Captain Camara’s, led by President Alpha Condé, conducted an investigation into the massacre and promised a trial. But one never materialized.
It was another military junta that finally held the trial — this junta headed by Col. Mamady Doumbouya, who overthrew President Condé in 2021.
The trial was seen by many observers as an opportunity for Colonel Doumbouya’s government to build its credibility internationally, and give the impression that it is committed to justice and the rule of law.
When Colonel Doumbouya seized power, many Guineans welcomed him, hoping he offered a break with President Condé, who had become increasingly repressive and intent on staying in power.
But their honeymoon period with Colonel Doumbouya was short-lived. Under his rule, demonstrations have been banned. Protests have taken place nonetheless, and 47 people have died in them, according to Amnesty International. The opposition coalition was dissolved. Recently, three of the country’s main independent media outlets have been shuttered.
And earlier this month, two leading opposition figures were arrested and then disappeared. This has led to a major outcry in the country, including among lawyers, who boycotted the trial of Captain Camara and the other defendants.
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