Guinea opens trial over 2009 army massacre of protesters

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Guinea opened a landmark trial Wednesday 13 years after a stadium massacre by the military left at least 157 protesters dead and dozens of women raped, with the country’s former coup leader Moussa “Dadis” Camara among those charged.

The court proceeding began a day after Camara and five more defendants were detained in the capital, Conakry, pending the outcome of the trial. A dozen men in total have been charged with crimes including murder and rape in connection with the 2009 attacks.

“Thirteen years later, let’s do everything possible to ensure that the horror of massacres does not happen again in Guinea,” said Djibril Kouyate, the president of the Guinean National Bar Association, during a speech at the trial’s opening. “Those who died will not speak again, but their bloodshed demands justice.”

Karim Ahmad Saad Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, told those gathered Wednesday that “13 years is a long time” and applauded the victims’ family members for keeping their patience.

“September 28 has become a day of sadness,” he said. “We have the opportunity, you have created the space for September 28 to be a day of promise and hope.”

Demonstrators had gathered at the stadium that day to protest then-coup leader Camara’s plans to run for president when security forces opened fire. The junta said that “uncontrolled” elements of the army carried out the rapes and killings. But a Human Rights Watch investigation found that Camara’s top aides were at the stadium and did nothing to stop the violence.

Their investigation found that Camara’s red-bereted presidential guard surrounded the stadium where opposition supporters had gathered and blocked the exits. The troops entered and immediately opened fire with AK-47s as panicking demonstrators tried to flee. Many were crushed to death, while others were gunned down as they tried to scale the stadium’s walls.

Several months after the massacre, Camara survived an assassination attempt and then fled into exile in Burkina Faso. The man who shot him, Capt. Toumba Diakite, is among the defendants being held alongside Camara.

For years Guinea’s government had sought to prevent his homecoming, fearing it could stoke political instability. However, another coup last year put a military junta in power that was more amenable to Camara’s repatriation. Last year he finally returned to Conakry, where he told supporters he had faith in the country’s justice system and was “fully prepared to tell my part of the truth.”

Elise Keppler, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, has said that the trial’s opening is bringing “victims closer to much needed justice for the horrific crimes committed in the stadium.”

“The trial is an unprecedented step for justice for victims in Guinea, which should be accompanied by reforms to enable respect for rights and more prosecutions of abuses,” Keppler said last week. “The ICC Prosecutor’s office has played a vital role in spurring forward this landmark trial through its ongoing monitoring and frequent visits to Conakry, which it should continue.”

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Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal contributed.