News   /   More

Senegal agrees to extradition of Guinea soldier

Guinean soldier Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite, center, better known under the nickname "Toumba," walks out of the Indictment Chamber of the Dakar Criminal Court, Senegal, January 10, 2017. (AFP photo)

A court in Senegal has approved the extradition of a Guinean soldier allegedly involved in the 2009 killing of over 150 people in a stadium.

A lawyer representing Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite said on Tuesday that an appeals court in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, had agreed to send back the fugitive soldier to Guinea.

"We are now awaiting the president's extradition order to file an appeal before the Supreme Court for abuse of power," said Baba Diop.

According to the Senegalese law, President Macky Sall would have the final say on the extradition.

The United Nations says 157 people were killed in September 2009 during a crackdown by presidential guards on an opposition rally in Conakry stadium. It is claimed that at least 109 women were raped inside the facility and its surroundings. Witnesses say guards fired on the crowd, beat and arrested opposition leaders during the horrible crackdown.

Diakite, better known under the nickname "Toumba," became famous in December 2009, when he allegedly shot his mentor and Guinea's coup leader, Dadis Camara, in a dispute over responsibility for the massacre.

Camara escaped the assassination injured and went to Morocco before he settled in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou. Diakite was at large until Senegalese authorities arrested him in Dakar on December 16, 2016. He had reportedly been living in the city unnoticed for five years with media reports saying he had changed his identity and appearance. 

Diakite's lawyer said last month that the suspect was opposed to extradition as he feared his safety back home.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku