Guinea: Ex-dictator convicted of crimes against humanity

A court in Guinea sentenced former junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty of crimes against humanity on Wednesday.

Camara and others were charged with murder, rape, torture and kidnapping stemming from the the massacre of more than 150 people at a pro-democracy rally in 2009.

"It is appropriate to declare Moussa Dadis Camara guilty of crimes against humanity based on the responsibility of the upper hierarchy," president of the court Ibrahima Sory II Tounkara said.

Several other former military commanders were also found guilty of crimes against humanity and handed life sentences. Four defendants were found not guilty.

Human Rights Watch's international justice counsel Tamara Aburamadan said Wednesday's hearing was "a long-awaited moment of truth for the victims and their families."

Who is Moussa Dadis Camara?

Camara took power in a coup in late 2008. He ruled Guinea as the head of a military junta until early 2010.

In 2009, tens of thousands of people gathered at a stadium in Conakry to press Camara not to stand in an election the following year. Soldiers shot, stabbed and beat the protesters, while others were crushed in a stampede after security forces fired tear gas.

Prosecutors said that a least a dozen women were also raped by security forces.

"This is a widespread and systematic attack by armed men against a civilian population," the judge said while reading the verdict.

Camara denied the charges and pleaded not guilty. He has always blamed his subordinates for the stadium massacre.

Victims demand justice

Around 100 victims provided chilling testimonies during the hearing.

The verdict was keenly awaited by victims' families and survivors of the massacre.

One woman who said she was raped during the massacre and lost her husband called for those responsible to be punished severely.

"This trial is of the utmost importance to me. I want these soldiers to pay a heavy price with sentences befitting their crimes," she told the AFP news agency.

Asmaou Diallo, the head of an association for victims and their relatives, told AFP that that all eyes were on the court case.

"We really expect the truth and for light to be shed with this verdict," Diallo said.

zc/wmr (AFP, Reuters, AP)