In a decree read out on Guinean television late on Friday, President Mamadou Doumbouya pardoned former military leader Moussa Dadis Camara for “health reasons” after the latter was found guilty by a court of crimes against humanity in the September 2009 stadium massacre.
Seized in a coup d’état in 2008, Moussa Dadis Camara was sentenced on July 31, 2024 to 20 years in prison for his role in the massacre of at least 156 protesters at a pro-democracy demonstration in Conakry’s stadium.
Tens of thousands of people came together on that day to urge Dadis Camara not to run for president the following year.
Last Wednesday, General Doumbouya, who came to power in a putsch in 2021, announced that he would “pay compensation to the victims of the massacre”.
As security forces charged the stadium and used tear gas, many people were shot, stabbed, beaten, or crushed in a stampede.
A dozen women were raped by the security forces, prosecutors reported during the trial.
