Guinea’s most wanted man arrested in Liberia

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Guinea’s most wanted fugitive, who had fled the West African country after a prison break in the capital Conakry last November, has been arrested in Liberia, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Colonel Jean-Claude Pivi was arrested Tuesday by security forces in a village on the border between Liberia and Guinea, Abdourahamane Dabo told reporters.

“He was arrested during a routine security swoop in Liberia. Even when the information is yet to be officially communicated in Guinea, our sources told us of the arrest,” he said.

Photos of his arrest circulated Wednesday on several Guinean social networks and media sites showed Pivi in a striped polo shirt, shorts and looking visibly weak.

Pivi was arrested along with his son, Verny, who is believed to be the mastermind of his father's escape from the central prison of Conakry, according to local media reports.

In July, Jean-Claude Pivi was found guilty of crimes against humanity in connection with a massacre that occurred in 2009 in Conakry and sentenced to life imprisonment.

At least 156 people were killed in the massacre at the Conakry stadium, with hundreds of others injured in a crackdown on an opposition rally.

Pivi’s extradition plans are yet to be clear.

After his escape, the military junta in Guinea offered a bounty of €50,000 ($55,558) for information leading to his arrest.

He served as the presidential security minister during the rule of Guinea’s military leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, who was also sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection with the 2009 stadium massacre.

Pivi remained influential in Guinea after Camara’s successor, Alpha Conde, kept him in his presidential security position.