Late on Wednesday 26 March, General Amara Camara, secretary general of the presidency, appeared in uniform on screens in Guinean homes to read the three articles of a presidential decree announcing that “the entire costs of compensation for victims in the trial relating to the 28 September 2009 massacre will be covered by the national budget”. This decision was motivated by “a concern for social justice, national reconciliation, and compensation for harm”, the military junta representative said. The prime minister, the ministers of justice, economy and finance, and budget are responsible “each, in their respective areas, for the rigorous implementation of this decree”, signed by the transition president Mamadi Doumbouya. The one-minute-and-forty-second televised announcement surprised victims, who had in previous days been expressing their frustration to Justice Info.
“Since the verdict was handed down, we haven’t heard anything,” said Fatoumata Barry, one many women victims of sexual violence during the 28 September 2009 massacre in Guinea. She was also the only one who agreed to testify openly during the trial. On the stand, she gave an unvarnished account of how the soldiers who burst into the stadium perpetrated those sexual assaults.
As a victim of rape, Barry is supposed to receive 1.5 billion Guinean francs (160,000 euros), according to the court-ordered compensation rate. Almost eight months after the verdict, she still hasn’t seen a cent of it. “We only learned that there was an administrative procedure to be followed, and then, that there were lawyers who had lodged appeals,” said Barry. “So far, nothing has been done.”
Compensation ranging from 20,000 to 160,000 euros
On 31 July 2024, at the end of the so-called “September 28” trial, the Dixinn criminal court sentenced defendants Moussa Dadis Camara, Moussa Tiegboro Camara, Aboubacar Diakité dit Toumba, Marcel Guilavogui, Claude Pivi, Blaise Goumou, Mamadou Aliou Keïta and Paul Mansa Guilavogui. After a 22-month trial, the court and its president, Judge Ibrahima Sory 2 Tounkara, found them guilty of the massacre of demonstrators at Conakry’s Grand Stade in 2009, which was requalified during the trial as a crime against humanity.
This lengthy judicial case exposed one of the darkest episodes in Guinea’s contemporary history. On 28 September 2009, the opposition planned a demonstration against the possible presidential candidacy of Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, head of the junta at the time. The gathering in Guinea’s largest sports complex turned deadly when security forces opened fire on the crowd. At least 156 people were killed by bullets, knives, machetes or bayonets, and hundreds more were injured, according to the report of a UN-mandated international commission of inquiry. At least 109 women were raped. The atrocities - whose real casualties are probably higher - continued for several days against kidnapped women and tortured detainees.
The eight men received prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. But they were also ordered to pay the victims the following amounts: 1 billion 500 million Guinean francs (160,000 euros) per case of rape, 1 billion Guinean francs (around 105,000 euros) per case of death and disappearance, 500 million Guinean francs (around 53,000 euros) per case of looting, 200 million Guinean francs (around 21,000 euros) per case of torture and intentional bodily harm. However, although the court ordered provisional execution of its decision, nothing has so far been done about the damages owed to the many victims.
Slowness of justice
For Barry and other victims of the massacre, there is a sense of urgency almost 15 years after the violence they suffered. “There are some very critical situations. And these situations risk going from bad to worse if they tell us to wait for the final decision in this case before compensating the victims,” she said. “But since it’s a matter for the courts, we continue to be patient. Because even our lawyers are sometimes inaccessible.”
Mamadou Baïlo Bah was not at the stadium on 28 September 2009. However, he is also a victim. In the trial, he brought a civil action for having lost his biological father at the stadium. Over time, he was elected president of the Association of the families of the 28 September 2009 disappeared. He belongs to the category of victims due to receive 1 billion Guinean francs in compensation. Like Barry, he has not yet received anything.
“I think this once again demonstrates the slowness of justice in the face of our concerns. Today we want the victims to be able to really benefit from these reparations, because it’s an absolute right for us,” he says. “The biggest problem in this situation is that there is no communication between us and our lawyers. We have to recognize that. Nor is there any communication between the victims and those who are supposed to give us real information about the progress of the legal proceedings. I’m talking about the judicial system. As a result, many victims have become discouraged.”
Appeals trial not scheduled
During the trial, from 28 September 2022 to 31 July 2024, several lawyers worked alongside the victims.
Alpha Amadou DS Bah, coordinator of the civil parties’ lawyers, is one of them. “After more than a decade of relentless struggle by the victims and the associations supporting them, a judgment has been handed down against the accused Moussa Dadis Camara and his cronies. Indeed, substantial sums were awarded to the victims, but unfortunately, to date, this judgment has not been executed,” said the lawyer before yesterday’s announcement. “This is because, first, there has been an appeal and second, we have not yet been able to identify the assets of those convicted in order to proceed with their possible seizure and sale,” he explained, adding that no date has yet been scheduled for start of the appeals trial.
Reacting to the presidential announcement last night, DS Bah stressed that “this is the first time since independence that a government has decided to take responsibility for compensating victims of serious human rights violations”. “This is a real relief for us; we are now waiting for concrete measures to be implemented to support this decree,” he said on the Reflet Guinée television channel.
In a statement reported by Vision Guinée in September 2024, the minister of Justice and human rights, Yaya Kaïraba Kaba, said that the compensation amounts were “astronomical and exorbitant”. “They are above the national development budget forecasts,” he confided, before making a plea: “We are pinning our hopes on the rapid and massive return of our [foreign] partners, who have always agreed to support us.”
“It’s a huge sign of relief for me”
Asmaou Diallo, president of the Association of Victims, Parents and Friends of the Events of 28 September (Avipa, which represents some 700 victims), spoke to Justice Info as she was leaving a meeting at the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday 11 March. Diallo is one of the architects of the trial and her association, which includes most of the civil parties, is fighting to ensure the victims are compensated in accordance with the court’s decision. “There’s nothing for the moment, but they’ve promised to communicate when everything is available,” she confided.
Contacted shortly after the announcement, the president of Avipa was confident in the government’s ability to keep its promise: “I admit it’s a big surprise. For me it brings a huge sigh of relief. The victims really needed this, because it’s been a long wait for us. It’s another page that’s turning. I’m sure they’ll do it, because when they announced a trial they actually did it. I’m sure the transitional president will make sure it happens quickly.”
The decree read last night on national television does not provide any details on how the government intends to raise the necessary funds, or on the compensation schedule.
