A high-stakes trial over the killings and sexual crimes in Conakry in 2009 has begun.
Conakry, Guinea – For more than a decade, Oumou Barry has kept her torn, bloodstained dress in a plastic bag along with a CT scan of her broken scapula as evidence of her rape by a Guinean soldier at a stadium in the capital, Conakry, on September 28, 2009.
“This is the dress I was wearing that day,” the 63-year-old retired secretary and grandmother of 11 told Al Jazeera. “I always have it with me when I do interviews. This is proof of what they did to me.”
She was among hundreds of Guineans who came out to protest against military strongman and coup leader Dadis Camara’s decision to run for the presidency.
In December 2008, Camara seized power hours after the death of President Lansana Conté, proclaiming himself head of the transitional government and promising to organise free and fair elections excluding members of the military government.
By April 2009, he had back-pedalled, hinting that he might run for president. Hundreds took to the streets to peacefully protest, and the Guinean military entered the stadium where protesters had gathered and started firing guns at the crowd.
At least 150 people were killed, according to Human Rights Watch. Reports also show that women were specifically targeted by Guinean soldiers. Witnesses said that four women were shot dead after being sexually assaulted.
“It came as a shock to the public because of the scale and scope of the sexual violence that was described,” Souleymane Sow, country director at Amnesty International, told Al Jazeera. “From 2009 to 2012, the question of sexual violence and rape was never addressed. There weren’t many mechanisms that encouraged victims to speak up.”
However, on the 13th anniversary of the massacre, the highly anticipated trial of Camara and other defendants began.
Barry was among the first survivors to speak about the horror that unfolded at the stadium. Behind an office door at the victims’ association headquarters, an organisation created to pressure the government to seek justice and reparations for survivors, she revealed her scars; dents on her leg and hips; and the thick stitched-up line travelling from her shoulder to her upper back.
The soldiers had used live ammunition as well as machetes and knives to attack the protesters.
