International Court to investigate shootings in Guinea stadium

THE International Criminal Court said yesterday it has launched a preliminary investigation into last month’s violence at a Guinea sports stadium, where presidential guard troops opened fire on tens of thousands of demonstrators.

The investigation is meant to establish whether offences were committed when the troops fired on 50,000 people at the West African nation’s main soccer stadium.

A Guinean human rights group says 157 people were killed and more than 1,200 wounded. The government put the death toll at 57.

The court’s deputy prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said women were brutalised by men “apparently in uniform” at the stadium in the capital, Conakry.

“This is appalling, unacceptable,” Bensouda said. “Those responsible must be held accountable.”

If the court finds crimes were committed it could launch a full-scale investigation and prosecute senior commanders. The initial phase of the investigation will likely take months.

All gatherings and demonstrations have been banned in Guinea since the violence broke out on September 28 as protesters rallied against plans by the country’s military ruler to run for president next year.

Captain Moussa “Dadis” Camara seized power in a coup nine months ago, hours after longtime dictator Lansana Conte died.

Guinea became the first of France’s African colonies to become independent in 1958, after nearly seven decades of French rule.

But since independence, the mineral-rich nation has been pillaged by its ruling elite, leaving its 10 million people among the world’s poorest.

The International Criminal Court has launched four full-scale investigations – in Congo, Uganda, Sudan’s Darfur region and the Central African Republic. It also is working on preliminary investigations in nations such as Afghanistan, Kenya, Colombia, and Georgia.

The court has four Congolese war lords in its custody but so far has started just one trial. It’s most senior suspect, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, rejects the court’s jurisdiction and refuses to turn himself in. He is accused of orchestrating war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Prosecutors also are examining if they have the jurisdiction to respond to a Palestine request to investigate last year’s Gaza conflict.