Special Court for Sierra Leone
Encyclopedia
The Special Court for Sierra Leone is an independent judicial body set up to "try those who bear greatest responsibility" for the war crime
s and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone
after 30 November 1996 during the Sierra Leone Civil War
. The court is located in Freetown
.
wrote a letter to United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan
asking the international community to try those responsible for crimes during the conflict. On 10 August 2000, the United Nations Security Council
adopted Resolution 1315
requesting the Secretary-General to start negotiations with the Sierra Leonean government to create a Special Court.
On 16 January 2002, the UN and Government of Sierra Leone signed an agreement establishing the Court. The contract was awarded to Sierra Construction Systems, the largest construction company in Sierra Leone. The first staff members arrived in Freetown
in July 2002.
On 22 February 2010, the Special Court for Sierra Leone announced the appointment of a new Registrar, Binta Mansaray. Ms. Mansaray had previously served for the as the Deputy Registrar of the Court and as Chief of the Court's Outreach Programme. She is the first Sierra Leonean to hold the post of Registrar.
The current Prosecutor, Brenda Hollis, previously the Principal Trial Attorney in the Charles Taylor case, was appointed by the UNSG and took up her office in February 2010. The Prosecutor and her team investigate crimes, gather evidence and submit indictments to the judges. The Deputy Prosecutor is Joseph Kamara, a national of Sierra Leone, nominated by that government and appointed by the Secretary General. Mr. Kamara took up his post on 15 August 2008.
Appeals Chamber :
Trial Chamber I judges:
Trial Chamber II judges:
, violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions
and of Additional Protocol II
(war crime
s), other serious violations of international humanitarian law
, and crimes under Sierra Leonean law. If found guilty, criminals may be sentenced to prison or have their property confiscated. The Court, as with all other tribunals established by the United Nations, does not have the power to impose the death penalty. Thus far, 13 individuals have been indicted on charges of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other violations of international humanitarian law. No individuals have been charged with crimes under Sierra Leonean law.
The SCSL has indicted 21 individuals, and 20 of them have been captured or had their proceedings terminated due to death. Five individuals are currently on trial (two of whom are serving sentences from prior convictions), one has been acquitted, eight have been convicted and are serving sentences (including two who are currently on trial on additional counts), one has been convicted but has yet to be sentenced and four individuals have completed their sentences. Proceedings against three individuals were terminated following their death, and one individual, Johnny Paul Koroma, is a fugitive, though he is believed to have executed by order of Charles Taylor.
with which an individual has been charged. WC the number of counts of war crime
s and violations of international humanitarian law, CSL the number of counts of crimes under Sierra Leonean law, and C/M the number of counts of contempt of the Court
or misconduct. Note that these are the counts with which an individual was indicted, not convicted.
(CDF), i.e. Allieu Kondewa
, Moinina Fofana
, and former Interior Minister Samuel Hinga Norman
. Their trial started on 3 June 2004 and concluded with closing arguments in September 2006. Norman died in custody on 22 February 2007 before judgement after having undergone a surgical procedure in Dakar, Senegal. The trial proceedings against him were accordingly terminated.
(RUF) were indicted: Foday Sankoh
, Sam Bockarie
, Issa Hassan Sesay, Morris Kallon
and Augustine Gbao
. The charges against Sankoh and Bockarie were dropped after their deaths were officially ascertained. The trial for Kallon, Gbao and Sesay began on 5 July 2004. It concluded on 24 June 2008. Final oral arguments were conducted on 4 and 5 August 2008.
(AFRC): Alex Tamba Brima
(also known as Gullit), Brima Bazzy Kamara
and Santigie Borbor Kanu
(also known as Five-Five). Their trial began on 7 March 2005.
The only indicted person who is not detained, and whose whereabouts remain uncertain, is the former dictator and AFRC chairman Johnny Paul Koroma
, who seized power in a military coup on 25 May 1997. He was widely reported to have been killed in June 2003, but as definitive evidence of his death has never been provided his indictment has not been dropped.
, Charles Taylor, who was heavily involved with the civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone. Taylor was originally indicted in 2003, but he was given asylum in Nigeria
after fleeing Liberia.
In March 2006, Taylor fled from house arrest in Nigeria and was arrested at the border in a car full of cash. Taylor was extradited to the Special Court following a request to this effect by the Liberian Government. He was immediately turned over to the Special Court for trial.
Because Taylor still enjoyed considerable support in Liberia, and the region was not entirely stable, his trial in Freetown was deemed undesirable for security reasons, the United Nations
Mission to Sierra Leone UNAMSIL having considerably reduced its presence. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1688
of 17 June 2006 allowed the Special Court to transfer Taylor's case to The Hague
, Netherlands, where the physical plant of the International Criminal Court
would be used with the trial still being conducted under SCSL auspices. Taylor's trial started on 4 June 2007, with the first witness appearing 7 January 2008, and it is available in streaming video. (The trials of the other cases at the SCSL were not available on the Internet because of local Internet limitations. They were available on the SCSL intranet.)
The Prosecution rested its case on 27 February 2009, and the Defense began their case on 13 July 2009 and rested on 12 November 2010. The Trial Chamber is currently considering its verdict.
The second was opened in 2011 and involved the alleged intimidation of a witness by Brima Kamara and Santigie Kanu, who at the time had already been sentenced for the previous case against them, and Hassan Bangura, Samuel Kargbo, and Eric Senessie. At the beginning of the trial, Kargbo entered a guilty plea and was convicted shortly after the trial began. Kargbo will not be sentenced until after the trial of his four co-defendants is concluded.
; collective punishment
s; extermination; murder
– a crime against humanity; murder – a war crime; rape
; outrages upon personal dignity; physical violence – a war crime; conscripting or enlisting children
under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups, or using them to participate actively in hostilities; enslavement
; and pillage. They were found not guilty of three counts: sexual slavery
and any other form of sexual violence; other inhumane act – forced marriage
; and other inhumane acts – a crime against humanity.
These were the first judgments from the SCSL, as well as the first time ever that an international court ruled on charges related to child soldiers or forced marriage, and the first time an international court delivered a guilty verdict for the military conscription of children. Therefore this was a landmark decision, by which the Special Court for Sierra Leone has created a major legal precedent in international criminal law
.
On 19 July 2007, Alex Tamba Brima and Santigie Borbor Kanu were sentenced to 50 years in jail, while Brima Kamara was sentenced to 45 years imprisonment.
On 22 February 2008, the Appeals Chamber denied their appeal and reaffirmed the verdicts.
On 9 October 2007, the Court decided on the punishment. Kondewa was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, Fofana got six years. These sentences were considered a success for the defence as the prosecutors had asked for 30 years imprisonment for both. The Court imposed a lesser sentence because it saw some mitigating factors. These included the CDF’s efforts to restore Sierra Leone’s democratically elected government which, the Trial Chamber noted, “contributed immensely to re-establishing the rule of law in this Country where criminality, anarchy and lawlessness (...) had become the order of the day”.
On appellate judgements announced on 28 May 2008, the Appeals Chamber overturned convictions of both defendants on the collective punishments charge as well as Kondewa's conviction for the use of child soldiers. However, the Appeals Chamber also entered new convictions against both for murder and inhumane acts as crimes against humanity. The Appeals Chamber also enhanced the sentences against the two, with the result that Fofana will serve 15 years and Kondewa will serve 20 years.
defendants were handed down. Issa Sesay
and Morris Kallon
were each found guilty on 16 of the 18 counts on which they had been charged. Augustine Gbao
was found guilty of 14 of the 18 charges. Convictions were entered on charges including murder, enlistment of child soldiers, amputation, sexual slavery and forced marriage
. The three were all convicted on charges of forced marriage, the first such convictions ever handed down in an international criminal court. All three had pleaded not guilty and shook their heads as the judgment was read.
Sentences were handed down on 8 April 2009. Sesay received 52 years, Kallon 40 years and Gbao 25 years. The convictions and sentences were appealed and, on October 26, 2009, the Appeals Chamber handed down an opinion denying that appeal.
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
after 30 November 1996 during the Sierra Leone Civil War
Sierra Leone Civil War
The Sierra Leone Civil War began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front , with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia , intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government...
. The court is located in Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
.
Origin
On 12 June 2000, Sierra Leone's President Ahmad Tejan KabbahAhmad Tejan Kabbah
Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah served as President of Sierra Leone from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007.He worked for the United Nations Development Programme and returned to Sierra Leone in 1992...
wrote a letter to United Nations Secretary-General
United Nations Secretary-General
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....
Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
asking the international community to try those responsible for crimes during the conflict. On 10 August 2000, the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
adopted Resolution 1315
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1315
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1315, adopted unanimously on August 14, 2000, after expressing concern at serious crimes committed in Sierra Leone, the Council expressed its intention to establish the Special Court for Sierra Leone to deal with violations of human rights, international...
requesting the Secretary-General to start negotiations with the Sierra Leonean government to create a Special Court.
On 16 January 2002, the UN and Government of Sierra Leone signed an agreement establishing the Court. The contract was awarded to Sierra Construction Systems, the largest construction company in Sierra Leone. The first staff members arrived in Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
in July 2002.
Structure
The Special Court consists of four separate institutions: the Registry, the Prosecutor, the Chambers and the Defense Office. The Registry is responsible for the overall management of the Court, and includes the Defence Office. The Defence Office provides support to the defence lawyers hired to defend the accused persons.On 22 February 2010, the Special Court for Sierra Leone announced the appointment of a new Registrar, Binta Mansaray. Ms. Mansaray had previously served for the as the Deputy Registrar of the Court and as Chief of the Court's Outreach Programme. She is the first Sierra Leonean to hold the post of Registrar.
The current Prosecutor, Brenda Hollis, previously the Principal Trial Attorney in the Charles Taylor case, was appointed by the UNSG and took up her office in February 2010. The Prosecutor and her team investigate crimes, gather evidence and submit indictments to the judges. The Deputy Prosecutor is Joseph Kamara, a national of Sierra Leone, nominated by that government and appointed by the Secretary General. Mr. Kamara took up his post on 15 August 2008.
The Chambers
There are currently twelve judges, of which seven are Trial Judges (5 UN appointed (including one alternate) and two nominated by the Sierra Leone government). The remaining five are Appeals Judges, three of which were appointed by the UN and two nominated by the Sierra Leone government. . Judges are appointed for a term of three years. They can be re-appointed.Appeals Chamber :
| Name | Country | Position | Appointed | Term Ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Kamanda |  Sierra LeoneSierra Leone Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4... |
President | 2007 | 2010 |
| Emmanuel Ayoola Emmanuel Ayoola Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola is a Nigerian lawyer and judge who became Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission in 2005. He is also a judge of the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.-Early years:... |
 NigeriaNigeria Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in... |
Vice-President | 2002 | 2011 |
| George Gelaga King George Gelaga King Justice George Gelaga King of Sierra Leone is a judge in West Africa and currently a justice on the Special Court for Sierra Leone.Justice George Gelaga King has been President of the Sierra Leone Court of Appeal and of Court of Appeal of the Gambia... |
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4... |
Member | 2002 | 2011 |
| Renate Winter |  AustriaAustria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
Member | 2002 | 2011 |
| Shireen Avis Fisher Shireen Avis Fisher Justice Shireen Avis Fisher is a Justice of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Previous to this appointment, Mrs. Justice Fisher was an International Judge of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. An American, Mrs. Justice Fisher practiced law in both Washington, D.C. and the State of Vermont... |
 United StatesUnited States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Member | 2009 | 2012 |
Trial Chamber I judges:
| Name | Country | Position | Appointed | Term Ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre G. Boutet |  CanadaCanada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
Presiding Judge | 2002 | 2011 |
| Rosolu John Bankole Thompson | Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4... |
Member | 2002 | 2011 |
| Benjamin Mutanga Itoe |  CameroonCameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the... |
Member | 2002 | 2011 |
Trial Chamber II judges:
| Name | Country | Position | Appointed | Term Ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julia Sebutinde Julia Sebutinde Lady Justice Julia Sebutinde, commonly referred to as Julia Sebutinde is a Judge at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, the Netherlands. She was appointed to that position in 2007.-Background:... |
 UgandaUganda Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by... |
Presiding Judge | 2005 | 2011 |
| Richard Lussick |  SamoaSamoa Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in... |
Member | 2005 | 2011 |
| Teresa Doherty |  United KingdomUnited Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
Member | 2005 | 2011 |
| El Hadji Malick Sow |  SenegalSenegal Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north... |
Alternate | 2007 | 2010 |
Former Judges
- Geoffrey RobertsonGeoffrey RobertsonGeoffrey Ronald Robertson QC is an Australian-born human rights lawyer, academic, author and broadcaster. He holds dual Australian and British citizenship....
AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(2002–2007) - Raja N. Fernando
Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
(2004–2008)
Indictees
The Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone outlines four different types of crimes with which the Court can charge individuals. They are crimes against humanityCrime against humanity
Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings...
, violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
and of Additional Protocol II
Protocol II
Protocol II is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. It defines certain international laws that strive to provide better protection for victims of internal armed conflicts that take place within the borders...
(war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s), other serious violations of international humanitarian law
International humanitarian law
International humanitarian law , often referred to as the laws of war, the laws and customs of war or the law of armed conflict, is the legal corpus that comprises "the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions, as well as subsequent treaties, case law, and customary international law." It...
, and crimes under Sierra Leonean law. If found guilty, criminals may be sentenced to prison or have their property confiscated. The Court, as with all other tribunals established by the United Nations, does not have the power to impose the death penalty. Thus far, 13 individuals have been indicted on charges of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other violations of international humanitarian law. No individuals have been charged with crimes under Sierra Leonean law.
The SCSL has indicted 21 individuals, and 20 of them have been captured or had their proceedings terminated due to death. Five individuals are currently on trial (two of whom are serving sentences from prior convictions), one has been acquitted, eight have been convicted and are serving sentences (including two who are currently on trial on additional counts), one has been convicted but has yet to be sentenced and four individuals have completed their sentences. Proceedings against three individuals were terminated following their death, and one individual, Johnny Paul Koroma, is a fugitive, though he is believed to have executed by order of Charles Taylor.
Overview
The list below details the counts against each individual indicted in the Tribunal and his or her current status. The column titled CAH lists the number of counts (if any) of crimes against humanityCrime against humanity
Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings...
with which an individual has been charged. WC the number of counts of war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s and violations of international humanitarian law, CSL the number of counts of crimes under Sierra Leonean law, and C/M the number of counts of contempt of the Court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
or misconduct. Note that these are the counts with which an individual was indicted, not convicted.
| Name | Indicted | Transferred to the SCSL |
Current status | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 10 | — | — | Died on ; proceedings terminated on | ||||
| 7 | 8 | — | — | Serving sentence of 50 years' imprisonment in Rwanda | ||||
| 8 | 10 | — | — | Serving sentence of 40 years' imprisonment in Rwanda | ||||
| 7 | 8 | — | 3 | Serving sentence of 45 years' imprisonment in Rwanda | ||||
| 7 | 10 | — | — | Fugitive; reported to have died in 2003 | ||||
| 2 | 6 | — | — | Died on ; proceedings terminated on | ||||
| 7 | 10 | — | — | Died on ; proceedings terminated on | ||||
| 8 | 10 | — | — | Serving sentence of 52 years' imprisonment in Rwanda | ||||
| 5 | 6 | — | — | Trial began on | ||||
| 8 | 10 | — | — | Serving sentence of 25 years' imprisonment in Rwanda | ||||
| 2 | 6 | — | — | Serving sentence of 15 years' imprisonment in Rwanda | ||||
| 2 | 6 | — | — | Serving sentence of 20 years' imprisonment in Rwanda | ||||
| 7 | 8 | — | 2 | Serving sentence of 50 years' imprisonment in Rwanda | ||||
| — | — | — | 1 | Appeared voluntarily | Acquitted on | |||
| — | — | — | 1 | Appeared voluntarily | Completed sentence of year's probation on | |||
| — | — | — | 1 | Appeared voluntarily | Completed sentence of year's probation on | |||
| — | — | — | 1 | Appeared voluntarily | Completed sentence of year's probation on | |||
| — | — | — | 1 | Appeared voluntarily | Completed sentence of year's probation on | |||
| — | — | — | 2 | Appeared voluntarily | Trial began on | |||
| — | — | — | 2 | Appeared voluntarily | Trial began on | |||
| — | — | — | 9 | Appeared voluntarily | Trial began on | |||
| Notes While serving their prison sentences, an additional indictment was filed against Brima Kamara and Santigie Kanu; their current trial began on 15 July 2011. |
||||||||
Civil Defence Forces (CDF)
Three of the indictees were leaders of the Civil Defence ForcesCivil Defence Forces
The Civil Defense Forces or CDF were a paramilitary organization who fought in the Sierra Leone Civil War . They supported the elected government of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah against the rebel groups RUF and AFRC . Much of the CDF was made up of the Kamajors group, which is part of the larger Mende...
(CDF), i.e. Allieu Kondewa
Allieu Kondewa
Allieu Kondewa is a former traditional doctor in the Kamajors tribe and military commander of the Civil Defence Forces in Sierra Leone. He was born in the Bo District and lived served until his arrest and subsequent trial by the Special Court for Sierra Leone....
, Moinina Fofana
Moinina Fofana
Moinina Fofana is a Sierra Leonean former military commander who was the leading general in the Kamajors militia and director of the Civil Defence Forces during the Sierra Leone Civil War...
, and former Interior Minister Samuel Hinga Norman
Samuel Hinga Norman
Samuel Hinga Norman was a Sierra Leonean politician from the Mende tribe. He was the founder and leader of the traditional Civil Defence Forces, commonly known as the Kamajors. The Kamajors fought under the supported the government of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah against the Revolutionary United Front,...
. Their trial started on 3 June 2004 and concluded with closing arguments in September 2006. Norman died in custody on 22 February 2007 before judgement after having undergone a surgical procedure in Dakar, Senegal. The trial proceedings against him were accordingly terminated.
Revolutionary United Front (RUF)
Five leaders of the Revolutionary United FrontRevolutionary United Front
The Revolutionary United Front was a rebel army that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later developed into a political party, which existed until 2007...
(RUF) were indicted: Foday Sankoh
Foday Sankoh
Foday Saybana Sankoh was the leader and founder of the Sierra Leone rebel group Revolutionary United Front in the 11-year-long Sierra Leone Civil War, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002...
, Sam Bockarie
Sam Bockarie
Samuel "Sam" "Mosquito" Bockarie was a leading member of the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone. Bockarie was infamous during the Sierra Leone Civil War for his brutal tactics, which included amputation, mutilation, and rape. He earned the nickname "Mosquito" for his ability to attack...
, Issa Hassan Sesay, Morris Kallon
Morris Kallon
Morris Kallon also known as Bilai Karim is a former Sierra Leonean rebel military commander in the Revolutionary United Front. In February 2009, he was convicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone on 16 of the 18 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes he was tried for.-Sources:* ...
and Augustine Gbao
Augustine Gbao
Augustine Gbao also known as Augustine Bao is a former Sierra Leonean paramilitary commander of the RUF. In February 2009, he was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Special Court for Sierra Leone and sentenced to 25 years in prison...
. The charges against Sankoh and Bockarie were dropped after their deaths were officially ascertained. The trial for Kallon, Gbao and Sesay began on 5 July 2004. It concluded on 24 June 2008. Final oral arguments were conducted on 4 and 5 August 2008.
Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC)
Three of the detained indictees belonged to the Armed Forces Revolutionary CouncilArmed Forces Revolutionary Council
The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council was a group of Sierra Leone soldiers that allied itself with the rebel Revolutionary United Front in the late 1990s. While the AFRC briefly controlled the country in 1998, it was driven from the capital by a coalition of West African troops...
(AFRC): Alex Tamba Brima
Alex Tamba Brima
Alex Tamba Brima is a former Sierra Leonean military commander. He was one of a group of seventeen soldiers in the Sierra Leone Armed Forces who called themselves Armed Forces Revolutionary Council that succefully stage a coup that ousted president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in May 1997...
(also known as Gullit), Brima Bazzy Kamara
Brima Bazzy Kamara
Brima Bazzy Kamara was a commander of the soldiers of the Sierra Leonean Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and in 2007 was convicted of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Sierra Leone Civil War....
and Santigie Borbor Kanu
Santigie Borbor Kanu
Santigie Borbor Kanu was a Sierra Leonean military commander in the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council . He was one of a group of seventeen soldiers in the military of Sierra Leone that succefully staged a coup that ousted president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in May 1997...
(also known as Five-Five). Their trial began on 7 March 2005.
The only indicted person who is not detained, and whose whereabouts remain uncertain, is the former dictator and AFRC chairman Johnny Paul Koroma
Johnny Paul Koroma
Johnny Paul Koroma was the Head of State of Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998.-Youth and Education :Koroma grew up in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. However, he was born in Tombodu, Kono District, in eastern Sierra Leone to Limba parents. He is from the same ethnic group as...
, who seized power in a military coup on 25 May 1997. He was widely reported to have been killed in June 2003, but as definitive evidence of his death has never been provided his indictment has not been dropped.
Charles Taylor
In a category on his own is the former President of LiberiaLiberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Charles Taylor, who was heavily involved with the civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone. Taylor was originally indicted in 2003, but he was given asylum in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
after fleeing Liberia.
In March 2006, Taylor fled from house arrest in Nigeria and was arrested at the border in a car full of cash. Taylor was extradited to the Special Court following a request to this effect by the Liberian Government. He was immediately turned over to the Special Court for trial.
Because Taylor still enjoyed considerable support in Liberia, and the region was not entirely stable, his trial in Freetown was deemed undesirable for security reasons, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Mission to Sierra Leone UNAMSIL having considerably reduced its presence. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1688
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1688
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1688, adopted unanimously on June 16, 2006, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia, Sierra Leone and West Africa, including resolutions 1470 , 1508 , 1537 and 1638 , the Council approved the transfer of former Liberian...
of 17 June 2006 allowed the Special Court to transfer Taylor's case to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, Netherlands, where the physical plant of the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
would be used with the trial still being conducted under SCSL auspices. Taylor's trial started on 4 June 2007, with the first witness appearing 7 January 2008, and it is available in streaming video. (The trials of the other cases at the SCSL were not available on the Internet because of local Internet limitations. They were available on the SCSL intranet.)
The Prosecution rested its case on 27 February 2009, and the Defense began their case on 13 July 2009 and rested on 12 November 2010. The Trial Chamber is currently considering its verdict.
Contempt cases
The Court has opened two contempt cases. The first was opened in 2005 involved the alleged intimidation of a witness by Brima Samura, an investigator for the defense team in the AFRC case and wives of the defendants: Margaret Brima, Neneh Jalloh, Esther Kamara, and Anifa Kamara. Samura was acquitted, but all the other defendants were sentenced to one year of probation.The second was opened in 2011 and involved the alleged intimidation of a witness by Brima Kamara and Santigie Kanu, who at the time had already been sentenced for the previous case against them, and Hassan Bangura, Samuel Kargbo, and Eric Senessie. At the beginning of the trial, Kargbo entered a guilty plea and was convicted shortly after the trial began. Kargbo will not be sentenced until after the trial of his four co-defendants is concluded.
AFRC
On 20 June 2007, the three suspects in the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council trial, Brima, Kanu, and Kamara, were each convicted of eleven of 14 counts. These were acts of terrorismTerrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
; collective punishment
Collective punishment
Collective punishment is the punishment of a group of people as a result of the behavior of one or more other individuals or groups. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions...
s; extermination; murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
– a crime against humanity; murder – a war crime; rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
; outrages upon personal dignity; physical violence – a war crime; conscripting or enlisting children
Military use of children
The military use of children takes three distinct forms: children can take direct part in hostilities , or they can be used in support roles such as porters, spies, messengers, look outs, and sexual slaves; or they can be used for political advantage either as human shields or in...
under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups, or using them to participate actively in hostilities; enslavement
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
; and pillage. They were found not guilty of three counts: sexual slavery
Sexual slavery
Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...
and any other form of sexual violence; other inhumane act – forced marriage
Forced marriage
Forced marriage is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or both of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will...
; and other inhumane acts – a crime against humanity.
These were the first judgments from the SCSL, as well as the first time ever that an international court ruled on charges related to child soldiers or forced marriage, and the first time an international court delivered a guilty verdict for the military conscription of children. Therefore this was a landmark decision, by which the Special Court for Sierra Leone has created a major legal precedent in international criminal law
International criminal law
International criminal law is a body of international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetration. Principally, it deals with genocide, war crimes, crimes against...
.
On 19 July 2007, Alex Tamba Brima and Santigie Borbor Kanu were sentenced to 50 years in jail, while Brima Kamara was sentenced to 45 years imprisonment.
On 22 February 2008, the Appeals Chamber denied their appeal and reaffirmed the verdicts.
CDF
On 2 August 2007, the two surviving CDF defendants, Kondewa and Fofana, were convicted of murder, cruel treatment, pillage and collective punishments. Kondewa was further found guilty of use of child soldiers. The CDF trial was perhaps the most controversial as many Sierra Leoneans considered the CDF to be protecting them from the depredations of the RUF.On 9 October 2007, the Court decided on the punishment. Kondewa was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, Fofana got six years. These sentences were considered a success for the defence as the prosecutors had asked for 30 years imprisonment for both. The Court imposed a lesser sentence because it saw some mitigating factors. These included the CDF’s efforts to restore Sierra Leone’s democratically elected government which, the Trial Chamber noted, “contributed immensely to re-establishing the rule of law in this Country where criminality, anarchy and lawlessness (...) had become the order of the day”.
On appellate judgements announced on 28 May 2008, the Appeals Chamber overturned convictions of both defendants on the collective punishments charge as well as Kondewa's conviction for the use of child soldiers. However, the Appeals Chamber also entered new convictions against both for murder and inhumane acts as crimes against humanity. The Appeals Chamber also enhanced the sentences against the two, with the result that Fofana will serve 15 years and Kondewa will serve 20 years.
RUF
On 25 February 2009, convictions of each of the three RUFRevolutionary United Front
The Revolutionary United Front was a rebel army that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later developed into a political party, which existed until 2007...
defendants were handed down. Issa Sesay
Issa Sesay
Issa Hassan Sesay served as senior military officer and commander in the Revolutionary United Front and AFRC/RUF forces in their insurrection against the government of Sierra Leone...
and Morris Kallon
Morris Kallon
Morris Kallon also known as Bilai Karim is a former Sierra Leonean rebel military commander in the Revolutionary United Front. In February 2009, he was convicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone on 16 of the 18 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes he was tried for.-Sources:* ...
were each found guilty on 16 of the 18 counts on which they had been charged. Augustine Gbao
Augustine Gbao
Augustine Gbao also known as Augustine Bao is a former Sierra Leonean paramilitary commander of the RUF. In February 2009, he was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Special Court for Sierra Leone and sentenced to 25 years in prison...
was found guilty of 14 of the 18 charges. Convictions were entered on charges including murder, enlistment of child soldiers, amputation, sexual slavery and forced marriage
Forced marriage
Forced marriage is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or both of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will...
. The three were all convicted on charges of forced marriage, the first such convictions ever handed down in an international criminal court. All three had pleaded not guilty and shook their heads as the judgment was read.
Sentences were handed down on 8 April 2009. Sesay received 52 years, Kallon 40 years and Gbao 25 years. The convictions and sentences were appealed and, on October 26, 2009, the Appeals Chamber handed down an opinion denying that appeal.
See also
- Ishmael BeahIshmael BeahIshmael Beah is a former Sierra Leonean child soldier and the author of the published memoir, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.-Early years:...
, a child soldier from Sierra Leone who has written a memoir of his experiences. - International Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaThe International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
- International Criminal Tribunal for RwandaInternational Criminal Tribunal for RwandaThe International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
- Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project (RULAC)Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project (RULAC)The Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project is an initiative of the to support the application and implementation of the international law of armed conflict.-Overview:...
External links
- Official site for the Special Court
- Justice in Motion: The Trial Phase of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Human Rights WatchHuman Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, November 2005 - Independent Interim Monitoring Reports of the Trials from 9/2004 to 11/2006, UC Berkeley War Crimes Study Center, November 2006
- Punishment and forgiveness in Sierra Leone, The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, November 3, 2002