After several weeks of delays, the trial of former dictator of Guinea Moussa Dadis Camara for the 2009 protest massacre that resulted in the deaths of 156 opposition supporters and at least 109 women being raped has resumed.
After being put on hold since May 29 due to a boycott by attorneys who claimed they hadn’t received payment in more than eight months, the proceedings resumed on Monday.
After a compromise was struck, it was supposed to continue on June 21, but it was postponed once more owing to a strike by jail wardens.
Tens of thousands of opposition demonstrators had assembled in a stadium in the country’s capital, Conakry, when Camara and other ex-military and government officials are accused of killing and raping them there. Soldiers barricaded the exits, let tear gas into the stadium, and started shooting live rounds. In the hours that followed, there were numerous rapes.
In the assault, Souleymane Camara lost his sibling. Now, according to the Association of September 28 Victims, several survivors eventually passed away after contracting HIV.
Exact 13 years after the march, on September 28, the 11 individuals accused of ordering the killings and cruelty began their trial.
“This trial is the accomplishment of all the fights we started 13 years ago to seek justice and bring reparations to the victims,” Souleymane Camara said.
Former leader Camara has denied ordering the slaughter and blamed “uncontrollable” security forces and a former adviser for leading it.
Despite the trial’s resumption, lawyers said their payment demands are still unresolved.
Defence lawyer Antoine Pepe Lamah said they had given the justice ministry until the end of July to fix the problem. He warned the attorneys would resume their boycott after the August holiday period if “the promises made are not fulfilled”.
