A Guinean court acquitted a police colonel on Monday over a brutal crackdown on a political rally in 2009 where hundreds were killed, tortured or raped.
On September 28, 2009, at least 156 people were killed by gunfire, knives, machetes and bayonets at an opposition rally at a stadium in the suburbs of the capital, Conakry, according to an international commission of enquiry mandated by the United Nations.
Hundreds more were wounded, detainees were tortured, at least 109 women were raped and abuses continued for several days against women who were held captive.
NGOs say the true number of victims is higher.
On Monday, a court in Conakry ordered the immediate release of Colonel Bienvenu Lamah, a military police officer who has been in custody in the west African country since November 2022.
It acquitted him of the charges against him, which included "complicity in abuse of authority, murder, abduction and unlawful detention".
The prosecution had sought a jail term of 10 years, including five without parole.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs, for whom the trial was a crucial step in a fight for justice that has lasted more than 15 years, said they would appeal.
In 2024, following a landmark trial over the massacre, Guinea's ex-dictator Moussa Dadis Camara was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 20 years behind bars -- only to be pardoned in March 2025 by current junta leader Mamady Doumbouya.
Seven other people have been sentenced to terms of up to life imprisonment for their roles.
Lamah went on trial in December alongside six individuals accused of complicity in the killings. Three of them -- all military personnel -- are still on the run.
