On June 27, investigative judges overseeing the investigation into the September 2009 killing and rape of opposition members, charged Lieutenant-Colonel Claude Pivi for his role in the crimes. The charges against Pivi, the minister for presidential security, represents a significant step forward for justice in Guinea.
Human Rights Watch has extensively documented the events and closely followed the investigation into the crimes.
On September 28, 2009, several hundred members of Guinea’s security forces burst into a Conakry stadium and opened fire on tens of thousands of opposition supporters peacefully gathered there. By late afternoon, at least 150 Guineans lay dead or dying in and around the stadium complex. Bodies were strewn across the field, crushed against half-opened gates, draped over walls, and piled outside locker rooms. Dozens of women at the rally suffered particularly brutal forms of sexual violence at the hands of the security forces, including individual and gang rape and sexual assault with objects such as batons, rifle butts, and bayonets. In the hours and days following the violence the security forces engaged in an organized cover-up to hide the number of dead.
