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Guinea ex-junta leader indicted over stadium massacre
Captain Moussa Dadis Camara (C) at Martyrs Place in Conakry October 2, 2009, during celebrations commemorating the Republic of Guinea's independence day. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Luc Gnago
By Saliou Samb
09/07/2015
CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinean authorities have indicted former military leader Moussa Dadis Camara over a massacre at a stadium in the capital in 2009 in which soldiers are accused of killing at least 157 people, a spokesman for his party said on Thursday.
Camara's indictment could throw into doubt his participation in elections set for Oct. 11 at which he is set to run for the newly created Patriotic Forces for Democracy and Development (FPDD) party against President Alpha Conde.
Camara ruled the West African country for almost a year after seizing power in a coup in 2008 and remains popular in his native Forest region of southeastern Guinea.
His reputation was tarnished, however, by the massacre in September 2009 against protestors who opposed his candidacy for presidential elections in 2010. Human rights groups and witnesses say at least 100 women were raped.
"The president of our party has in fact been indicted. He confirmed this to me during a telephone conversation that I had with him this afternoon," Maxime Monimou, spokesman for the FPDD, told Reuters.
"He told me that he had a first audience with the judges who read out the charges against him," he said. "Dadis himself said that he is ready to respond to the judges convocation. He is very calm as we are in the FPDD."
A source close to Camara's family said he had met two judges from Guinea.
Camara was charged in Burkina Faso where he has lived in exile since resigning the presidency. He is recovering from an assassination attempt. Prosecutors in Burkina Faso could not be reached for comment.
Two Guinean magistrates travelled to the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou on Monday. Last week, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda visited Guinea in connection with the affair.
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