Ex-Guinea top officer charged with torture

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) - Human rights activists in Guinea say that a former head of the country's presidential guard is now facing torture charges.

Aboubacar Sidiki Camara is accused of ordering the torture of 17 people back in October 2010.

Thierno Madjou Sow, the president of a Guinean human rights organization, on Friday applauded the court's action.

Activists say the presidential guard arbitrarily detained people and tortured them upon the instruction of Camara and his co-defendants.

Guinea descended into chaos in late 2008 when the longtime dictator of the West African country died. A subsequent coup further destabilized the country and democratic elections were not organized until late 2010.

The case against Camara is one of only a handful brought against those accused of human rights abuses during the turmoil.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Related topics