Guinea junta chief pardons former military leader over stadium massacre

Guinea’s junta chief has granted clemency to former military leader Moussa Dadis Camara for “health reasons,” following a court’s conviction last year of crimes against humanity related to a 2009 stadium massacre, as stated in a decree announced on state television late Friday.

Camara, who took control in a 2008 coup, was sentenced on July 31, 2024, to 20 years in prison for his involvement in the massacre of at least 157 individuals during a pro-democracy demonstration in a stadium in the capital, Conakry.

On September 28, 2009, thousands of individuals assembled to urge Camara against participating in the upcoming presidential election the next year. Numerous individuals were shot, slashed, assaulted, or trampled in a stampede as law enforcement discharged teargas and stormed the stadium.

Prosecutors stated during the trial that security forces raped at least twelve women. Camara, 61, was found guilty together with seven other military leaders.

The military government of the West African nation declared on Thursday that it would provide the compensation to victims that the court mandated Camara and the other defendants to pay.

This comprises a minimum of $2 million for victims of sexual assault and $18 million for the families of individuals who are deceased or unaccounted for. Junta chief Mamady Doumbouya took control in a coup in 2021.