By RFIPalled on 28-09-2019editarydated on 28-09-2019 at 16:22

In Guinea, the perpetrators in lattice of the attack of 28 September 2009 under the junta of captain Moussa Dadis Camara against opponents gathered in a stadium of Conakry remain unpunished ten years after their crimes.

On September 28, 2009, elements of the Guinean armed forces under the junta of Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, stormed a stadium in Conakry, the capital, where several thousand opponents had gathered. Nearly 160 people were killed in the attack and another 1,400 wounded, while more than 100 women were also raped by the soldiers.

This unleashing of violence and crime has remained unpunished since then. Hence the appeal launched on 28 September 2019 by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Guinean authorities. Michelle Bachelet urges them to " speed up " the organization of the trial, while expressing concern that a number of high-ranking officials indicted have not yet been brought to justice.

"A lot of progress has been made ," says Patrice Vahard, the representative of the High Commission in Guinea. But after ten years, it's not enough in the eyes of the victims. It is really time for the victims to be effectively compensated, for there to be a specific date for this trial and for the trial to be held for the truth to be told. But also in the interest of peace and stability of development of this country .

The Minister of Justice mentioned several prerequisites, including collecting money to compensate the victims or the renovation of the Court of Appeal. " If the will is there, I do not think that the financial obstacle must be the main one for the delay of the trial , estimates Patrice Vahard. Since last year, the budget question had been discussed. The government has indicated a financial envelope for holding or at least starting work. Maybe that will not be enough to get it all, but the international community has also said it is ready to provide financial support. Finance must not be a hindrance to the manifestation of the truth .

To render justice to the victims

In a joint statement, the embassies of France and the United States and the EU delegation in Guinea also stress the " importance of holding a trial without delay " so that the perpetrators of these crimes can respond as soon as possible to justice. They reiterate their " commitment to cooperate closely with the Guinean authorities and justice in order to guarantee the organization of a transparent and fair trial ".

On the side of the Guinean authorities, Prime Minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana was reassuring about the holding of the trial. He intervened on the evening of 27 September on Guinean national television " on behalf of the President of the Republic Alpha Condé to present the condolences of the nation " to the victims of the massacre and to promise that these crimes will not go unpunished.

" For those of our compatriots who have lived in their flesh, rapes, insults, beatings, beatings or disappearances of loved ones because of the violence that has plunged Guinea and appalled the world, I want to reassure them of our determination to work for the manifestation of the truth and for the fight against impunity , he said. My Government solemnly reaffirms that all the perpetrators of the injustices committed in connection with these tragic events at the 28 September stadium will be tried and the victims compensated for the harm done to them ".

" This trial will, we hope, be a firm commitment, an opportunity to deliver justice to the victims, to concretely address the challenge against impunity to build sustainably in Guinea, a democratic model anchored in values ​​and principles. of the rule of law, "added Ibrahima Kassory Fofana.

Six Guinean and international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have also denounced the lack of trial of the perpetrators of the massacre while " families are still waiting for justice ".

►To read also: "Missing", the forgotten of September 28, 2009 in Guinea

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