Former military leader pardoned for massacre

Guinea's ruling junta has pardoned former military leader Moussa Dadis Camara, less than a year into a 20-year sentence for crimes against humanity linked to one of the country's worst massacres. A decree read on state TV said the pardon had been granted for health reasons, reports BBC News. In 2009, troops under his command opened fire during a rally calling for a return to civilian rule, killing more than 150 people. Scores of women were also raped. Camara seized power when long-time President Lansana Conté died in 2008. He fled following an assassination attempt not long after the massacre, but returned in 2022 to face justice, insisting he was innocent. Camara's pardon follows an announcement last week that the current military government intends to pay compensation to the victims of the massacre, which Camara and the others convicted had been ordered by the court to cover. The massacre took place in September 2009, when tens of thousands gathered at a stadium in the capital, Conakry, to press Camara not to stand in a Presidential election. Many were shot, stabbed, beaten or crushed in a stampede as security forces fired teargas and charged into the stadium. At least 109 girls and women were raped.

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