Guinea's ex-dictator Moussa Dadis Camara, jailed for 20 years over a 2009 massacre, has been pardoned for "health reasons" by the West African country's junta head Mamadi Doumbouya. The decision has prompted angry reactions from victims, their families and human rights groups.
"Upon the proposal of the minister of justice, a presidential pardon is granted to Mr Moussa Dadis Camara for health reasons," said a decree read out on television by presidential spokesperson General Amara Camara late Friday.
A source in the Guinean human rights federation OGDH told French news agency AFP that Dadis Camara had left jail and had arrived in the capital Conakry.
Relatives and supporters of the former leader gathered near his house to show their support.
Following a landmark trial permitted by the junta after it took power in 2021, a court found Dadis Camara guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him in July to 20 years behind bars.
Bodies missing
On 28 September, 2009, at least 156 people were killed by gunfire, knives, machetes, or bayonets in a massacre at an opposition rally in a stadium in the capital Conakry, according to a UN-mandated international commission of inquiry.
Hundreds more were wounded and at least 109 women were raped.
The abuses continued for several days against women who were held captive, and detainees were tortured.
Only 57 bodies of the victims were recovered, according to families and human rights organisations, and the toll is believed to be far higher.
Dadis Camara was found responsible for the massacre and for failing to punish its perpetrators, a judge ruled.
Seven other people were also sentenced to terms of up to life imprisonment for their role in the massacre.
Post-coup Guinea faces 'a long path back to democracy'
Strong reactions
One of Guinea's few dissident groups, the National Constitution Defence Front, denounced the pardon for Dadis Camara and the compensation decree.
In a statement, it called the move "the most cynical manipulation and abject politicking".
"Mamadi Doumbouya is playing games with Guineans' intelligence with the aim of holding onto power," it said.
Some former victims of the 2009 crackdown also criticised the announcement.
"This is bad news and, frankly, I didn't expect it... How long has Moussa Dadis Camara spent in prison since his conviction? Not even a year!" Fatoumatou Diallo, told RFI in Conakry.
She lost her husband in the events of 28 September 2009, and has never found his body.
A victim of sexual violence, who asked not to reveal her full name, told AFP measures should have been taken to warn and protect other victims.
"Many people testified in public, and now with Dadis's release, their lives are in danger," she said. "I am not against the pardon in the name of national reconciliation, but it's the way it was done that bothers me."
Compensation
Camera's younger brother Jean Dadis Camara told AFP he was delighted to hear the news of the pardon.
"Everyone is happy. We thank the president," he said.
"We are extremely grateful to President Mamadi Doumbouya for this pardon. It is the greatest gift for the entire family," said Marcus Olivier Thea, a close friend and confidant of the former dictator.
General Doumbouya, who has lead Guinea since 2021, announced Wednesday that compensation ordered by a judge would be paid to the victims of the massacre.
Reparations range from 200 million Guinean francs (€21,00) to 1.5 billion Guinean francs (€160,000).
Political move
Drissa Traoré, the Secretary General of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), believes that this pardon "reduces to nothing the efforts made by both the victims and by organisations like the OGDH [the Guinean Organization for the Defence of Human and Citizen Rights and the FIDH to fight against impunity".
He suggests that by announcing compensation measures for victims just ahead of the pardon, "he simply wanted to make us swallow this pill," he told RFI.
Guinea opposition groups challenge military rule after missed deadline
According to Vincent Fourcher, researcher on African affairs in CNRS / Sciences Po Bordeaux in France, specialising in Guinea politics, the release of Dadis Camara could be politically motivated.
The junta does not want to risk losing the vote of the communities in his region, he told RFI on Monday.
Mamadou Bailo Bah, president of the Association of Families of the Disappeared of 28 September 2009 (AFADIS), hopes that an appeal is still possible.
"This decision is an insult to the memory of the victims of the massacre," he told RFI, "and we would have liked the guilty parties to serve their sentences. We will therefore see with our lawyers if there is any possibility of hoping for anything from another national or international jurisdiction."
(RFI with newswires)
