\n Hundreds of people flocked to a Guinean court Wednesday as former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara was set to stand trial over a 2009 stadium massacre in an historic moment 13 years in the making.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"It's like a dream, even if we've always believed it would happen\", said Asmaou Diallo, the head of a victims' association.\n<\/p>\n
\n The trial is expected to begin Wednesday afternoon in a purpose-built court in the capital Conakry, and comes over a decade after more than 150 people were killed in days of violence that the ex-dictator and several co-defendants are charged over.\n<\/p>\n
\n The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, called on Guinean authorities to respect international law, namely on witness protection and the presumption of innocence.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Justice... is not a cosmetic exercise\", he said. \"I will be watching this trial very closely\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Pramila Patten, a UN special representative, congratulated the ruling junta for its \"display of political will\" for moving ahead with the trial.\n<\/p>\n
\n Camara, 58, and his co-defendants face a litany of accusations from murder to sexual violence, kidnappings, arson and looting, and Camara himself is charged with \"personal criminal responsibility and command responsibility\" over the crimes.\n<\/p>\n
\n On September 28, 2009, and in the days that followed, security forces loyal to the then-junta leader slaughtered more than 150 people and raped at least 109 women who had gathered a political rally in a Conakry stadium, according to a UN-mandated report.\n<\/p>\n
\n The real figures are likely higher.\n<\/p>\n
\n Tens of thousands of opposition supporters had been peacefully demonstrating against a possible election bid by Camara.\n<\/p>\n
\n Numerous testimonies report how security forces entered the stadium, cordoned off the exits and opened fire indiscriminately.\n<\/p>\n
\n They attacked unarmed civilians with knives, machetes and bayonets, leaving the stands, corridors and grass strewn with the dead and dying.\n<\/p>\n
\n They sexually assaulted and then killed many women. Others were trampled to death in the panic.\n<\/p>\n
\n International investigators said the abuses could qualify as crimes against humanity.\n<\/p>\n
\n Camara had been living in exile in Burkina Faso but returned to Conakry on Saturday. Relatives say he intends to \"clear his name\".\n<\/p>\n
\n The defendants were jailed Tuesday and told they would be detained for the duration of the trial.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"I don't even dare believe that my rapists are still alive\", one survivor, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"But the fact that this trial is taking place is a relief\".<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hundreds of people flocked to a Guinean court Wednesday as former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara was set to stand trial over a 2009 stadium massacre in an historic moment 13 years in the making. \"It's like a dream, even if we've always believed it would happen\", said Asmaou Diallo, the head of a victims' association. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-107112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n