Guinea’s junta chief forgives former military boss for bombing a stadium

The junta leader of Guinea announced late Friday that he has pardoned former military chief Moussa Dadis Camara for “health reasons” after a court last year convicted him guilty of crimes against humanity in a 2009 stadium massacre. The announcement was broadcast on state television.

Camara was sentenced to 20 years in jail on July 31, 2024, for his involvement in the death of at least 157 people during a pro-democracy gathering in a stadium in the city Conakry. Camara took over in a 2008 coup.

Tens of thousands of people convened on September 28, 2009, to pressure Camara to withdraw from the next year’s presidential election. Security personnel used tear gas and stormed the stadium, causing a stampede in which many were shot, stabbed, battered, or crushed.

Prosecutors claimed during the trial that security agents had sexually assaulted at least a dozen women.

Camara, age 61, was found guilty along with seven other military leaders.

The present military regime in the West African country declared on Thursday that it will reimburse victims for the damages that the court had mandated Camara and the other defendants pay.

Reuters estimates that this includes at least $2 million for victims of sexual assault and $18 million for the families of those who have been killed or reported missing.

Mamady Doumbouya, the commander of the Junta, himself took over in a coup in 2021.