Guinea: Claude Pivi, ex-security chief convicted over 2009 stadium massacre, dies

Guinea’s Claude Pivi, who was convicted of crimes against humanity for a 2009 stadium massacre, has died, authorities said on Tuesday.

Pivi, also known as Coplan, was a former colonel and minister in charge of security under Guinea's then-dictator Moussa Dadis Camara.

He died in custody in a Conakry hospital on Tuesday from complications related to diabetes, the public prosecutor's office said.

Claude Pivi was convicted in absentia in 2024 for his role in a massacre at a stadium in Conakry 15 years prior.

Tens of thousands of people marched in the capital in September 2009 to protest against the Camara-led junta that had seized power in a coup the year before.

Security forces responded with extreme violence. At least 156 people were killed by gunfire, knives, machetes or bayonets, according to a UN-mandated international commission of inquiry.

Hundreds more were wounded and at least 109 women were raped in what is considered one of the darkest pages in Guinean history.

Pivi was broken out of prison in 2023 and was on the run when a Guinean court sentenced him to life imprisonment the following year for crimes against humanity.

He was extradited from neighbouring Liberia later in 2024 and returned to jail.

Camara also broke out of prison in the 2023 raid but was recaptured the same day. He was also found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 20 years, but current leader Mamadi Doumbouya granted him a presidential pardon at the end of March 2025.