The Guinean court that is trying Moussa Dadis Camara and a dozen co-accused for the 28th September, 2009 massacre decided Monday to keep him in jail for the duration of his trial and to reject his placement under house arrest.

The court rejected all other requests made by the defence lawyers at the opening of this historic trial on the anniversary of 28th September.

It decided that the hearings on the merits of the case and the questioning of the defendants could begin.

The prosecution had imprisoned the defendants who were still free on the eve of the trial, including Captain Camara, who had been living in exile in Burkina Faso and had returned a few days earlier.

The lawyers of the former autocrat challenged his detention, and asked either for his release or his placement under house arrest, invoking the respect due to a former head of state.

Captain Camara and a dozen former military and government officials are charged with a litany of killings, rapes, torture and looting committed during the crackdown on an opposition demonstration on 28 September 2009 and the following days.