Criminal
Code pénal 2016 abolishing the death penalty, with the 2009 stadium massacre trial
Loi L/2016/059 abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. The landmark development is the trial, begun in 2022, of former junta figures for the 28 September 2009 stadium massacre — a rare domestic prosecution of senior officers for mass atrocity.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Tribunal de première instance and Cour d'assises; the Cour suprême hears criminal appeals.
- Deadline — Garde à vue: 48 hours, extendable once
- Deadline — Prescription: 10 years for crimes, 3 years for délits
Governing law
- Loi L/2016/059/AN du 26 octobre 2016 portant Code pénal
- Loi L/2016/060/AN portant Code de procédure pénale
- Loi L/2011/007 relative à la lutte contre le terrorisme
In practice
The 2009 stadium massacre trial matters beyond Guinea: it is one of very few instances in which a domestic African court has tried a former head of the junta and senior commanders for crimes against humanity, with convictions delivered in 2024. It followed more than a decade of investigation, and the abolition of the death penalty in 2016 removed a significant obstacle to international cooperation in such cases.