San Francisco Frontiers - Massacre trial of Guinea ex-dictator Camara delayed again

The case was postponed to July 10 because of a prison wardens' strike, meaning the accused was absent, and follows a boycott by solicitors over their conditions.

Camara and 10 other ex-military and government officials stand accused over the killing of 156 people and the rape of least 109 women by pro-junta forces at an opposition rally at a stadium in the capital Conakry.

The trial began on September 28, 2022, exactly 13 years after the massacre, but had been suspended since May 29 after lawyers began a boycott, saying they had not been paid for more than eight months.

They also wanted aid for their clients to pay for their defence, the creation of a fund to cover lawyers' fees and improved working conditions in the courtroom.

But while the lawyers were back in the courtroom Wednesday, the defendants were missing, prompting the court to postpone the case.

Prison officers have called a strike in all the country's detention centres with several demands, including a pay rise, according to a statement made at a Conakry jail.

It is yet another setback for the victims and their relatives who have high expectations for the trial, the first of its kind in a country ruled for decades by authoritarian regimes.

Human Rights Watch had expressed concern that the trial's future was in doubt over dwindling financial resources and issues bringing the process to its conclusion.

R.Baker--SFF