A court docket in Guinea has sentenced former army ruler Moussa Dadis Camara to twenty years in jail for crimes in opposition to humanity.
The fees stemmed from one of many worst massacres within the nation’s historical past – the killing of greater than 156 individuals after troops opened hearth at a rally held in September 2009 to demand a return civilian rule.
Camara took energy in a coup when long-time President Lansana Conté died in 2008, however he fled the nation after surviving an assassination try not lengthy after the bloodbath.
He returned from exile in Burkina Faso in September 2022 to face justice, insisting that he was harmless.
Camara was convicted together with seven of his army commanders, whereas 4 others had been acquitted.
The bloodbath befell when tens of hundreds of individuals had packed a stadium within the capital, Conakry, to press him to not stand in a presidential election.
Many had been shot, stabbed, overwhelmed or crushed in a stampede as safety forces fired teargas and charged into the stadium.
Scores of girls had been additionally raped.
Camara was charged with homicide, rape, torture and kidnapping, however these had been reclassified to crimes in opposition to humanity.
He denied any involvement within the stadium bloodbath. His lawyer described the ruling as politically motivated and mentioned they might attraction.
An election in 2010 ushered in a decade of civilian rule, which introduced Alpha Condé to energy as president. He was overthrown in a coup practically three years in the past within the wake of protests after his controversial third time period.
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