A court in Guinea has found the former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara and seven other military commanders guilty of crimes against humanity in a long-awaited verdict relating to a notorious massacre and mass rape that took place in 2009.
In a ruling in the capital, Conakry, the initial charges, including murder, rape, and kidnapping, were recategorized as crimes against humanity. Afterward, Camara and his former police chief Moussa Tiegboro Camara were given 20-year prison sentences for ordering a crackdown on thousands of unarmed protesters, who were aggrieved that he had decided to stand in the presidential election the following year.
At least 150 people were killed after several hundred soldiers opened fire. Dozens of women were raped in the chaos that followed after the gendarmerie entered the Stade du 28 Septembre. Eleven people, including Dadis Camara, were charged for their roles in the massacre. The remaining four defendants were found not guilty.
“This trial is symbolic, marking without a doubt a new era of breaking with a system of impunity,” said Halimatou Camara (no relation to the former dictator), a lawyer representing one of the survivors.
The fight for justice has not been without challenges. The trial has been adjourned multiple times, while the matter of sufficient compensation and medical assistance for the survivors is also yet to be decided.
Guinea’s current military administration, led by Mamady Doumbouya, who took power after a 2021 coup, has been lauded locally for pushing for the trial.
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