A Guinean court sentenced ex-dictator Moussa Dadis Camara to 20 years in jail for crimes against humanity on Wednesday, July 31, after a landmark trial over a 2009 massacre at a political rally.
Former junta chief Dadis Camara, dressed in a traditional green and yellow boubou, remained motionless as the verdict was read by the court in the country's capital, Conakry.
On September 28, 2009, and in the following days, members of Dadis Camara's presidential guard, soldiers, police and militia brutally suppressed an opposition rally at a stadium in the suburbs of Conakry. In one of the darkest chapters in the West African nation's history, at least 156 people were killed, hundreds more wounded and 109 women raped, according to an UN-mandated commission of inquiry.
Along with 11 other government and military officials, Dadis Camara had been accused of murder, sexual violence, torture, abduction and kidnapping. He always denied any responsibility, blaming his subordinates. Seven other defendants were handed sentences of up to life imprisonment. The chief prosecutor had called for Dadis Camara and other defendants to be sentenced to life in prison.
The trial – which began on September 28, 2022, the anniversary of the killings – gripped the West African nation, with the courtroom drama carried on television and radio.
Judges heard from 11 defendants – who blamed each other for the massacre during the trial – as well as a dozen witnesses. Around 100 victims provided chilling testimonies.
Just before sentencing, the court had announced the charges would be classified as crimes against humanity. Pleading for the defendants' acquittal, the defense lawyers argued that reclassifying the charges as crimes against humanity on the day of the ruling would rob them of an opportunity to defend themselves and infringe their right to a fair trial.
Both the accused and the plaintiffs have 15 days to appeal the verdict. The prosecutor's office will have two months.
Security forces had been massively deployed for the hearing, in a case keenly awaited by victims' families for nearly 15 years. Ahead of the verdict, Tamara Aburamadan, an international justice legal counsel for Human Rights Watch, called it "a long-awaited moment of truth for the victims and their families."
However, the trial has taken place against a background of repression of both the opposition to Guinea's military rulers and the media. The day before the verdict, protests against the "forced disappearance" of pro-democracy activists Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah paralyzed parts of Conakry, with several injured in clashes between demonstrators and the police. Though the authorities deny holding the pair, civil society organizations say they are being held incommunicado and have called for further demonstrations.
International organizations and human rights activists have highlighted the unprecedented nature of the trial in Guinea. It is the first of its kind to challenge the impunity of the country's security forces, which are seldom held to account, according to the UN probe.