Lagos, Nigeria - The decision by investigative judges in Guinea to file charges against a high-level military official allegedly implicated in grave violations of human rights during a massacre of protesters in 2009 is an important step toward ensuring justice for the victims, Human Rights Watch has said.

Security forces were implicated in the killings of more than 150 opposition members and the rape of over 100 women in the aftermath of a peaceful demonstration.

Col. Moussa Tiégboro Camara is the highest-level official to be questioned and charged in relation to the crimes.

On 8 February 2012, Camara appeared before the investigative judges overseeing the investigations, following the filing of charges on 1 Feb.

Camara, a minister in the presidency in charge of fighting drug trafficking and organized crime, has been cooperative and was not taken into custody, sources in Guinea said.

“The courageous work of the judges and the charges against Colonel Moussa Tiégboro Camara are an encouraging and meaningful step forward for justice in Guinea,” Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch, said in a statement obtained by PANA here Friday.

“Ensuring justice for the 2009 victims and their families would help break the cycle of violence, fear, and impunity that has blighted the lives and hopes of so many Guineans for so many years,” Dufka said.

Human Rights Watch called on the Guinean government to support the judges’ work by allowing them to proceed independently and to undertake efforts to protect witnesses and victims.

The group also called on the Justice Ministry to ensure that Camara and others accused in the massacre are prosecuted in accordance with international fair trial standards.

Camara is charged for his alleged involvement in abuses on and around 28 September, 2009, as the security forces, some allegedly under his command, responded to what had been a peaceful demonstration by tens of thousands of protesters gathered at the main stadium in the capital.

The demonstrators were protesting continued military rule and the presumed candidacy in planned elections of then-junta leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara.

Members of the Presidential Guard and other security units opened fire on the crowds, leaving about 150 people dead.

Many were riddled with bullets and bayonet wounds, while many others died in the ensuing panic. Security forces subjected over 100 women at the rally to brutal forms of violence, including individual and gang rape, and sexual assault with sticks, batons, rifle butts, and bayonets.

Pana 10/02/2012