The Dixinn court in Conakry has sentenced Colonel Claude Pivi to life imprisonment in absentia for his involvement in the September 28, 2009 massacre. Pivi was arrested in Liberia On Tuesday and is expected to be extradited to Conakry immediately.
Colonel Pivi, a former head of presidential security, had been on the run since November 2023 when a commando unit broke into Conakry’s prison to free him, along with former President Moussa Dadis Camara and Secretary of State to the Presidency, Moussa Thiegboro Camara.
While the others eventually surrendered, Pivi evaded capture until his recent arrest during a routine police check in Liberia.
On July 31, the Dixinn court sentenced Pivi to life imprisonment, including a 25-year security period.
His co-defendants received prison terms ranging from 10 to 20 years. The trial, which began on September 28, 2022, charged 11 individuals with offenses including murder, sexual violence, torture, kidnapping, and looting.
The September 28, 2009 massacre, a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests involving over 50,000 demonstrators, resulted in 157 deaths, 109 women being raped, and numerous injuries and disappearances, according to a United Nations inquiry.
