PARIS, France—Prosecutors in the war crimes trial of Kunti Kamara, an accused Liberian warlord have asked the French jury hearing his case to find him guilty of all the charges he’s accused of, but his defense claims he’s innocent and has not been accorded a fair trial. By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives Mr. Kamara,…
By Anthony Stephens and Prue Clarke with New Narratives As he has done throughout the trial Kamara denied that he knew anything of child soldiers, torture, sex slaves, rape, cannibalism and forced labor in the county despite the testimony of dozens of Liberian and international witnesses in this trial and hearings of Liberia’s 2008 Truth…
PARIS, France – Though the charges being considered in the trial that got underway here today are “barbarous” according to prosecutors, day one was a quiet affair with the presiding judge of the three-judge panel drawing from a box the names of the jurors who would join them in deciding the fate of former rebel Kunti…
PARIS, France —The trial of Kunti Kamara, a former battlefront commander for the United Liberation Movement of Liberia, began Monday at the French Court of Appeals for crimes against humanity, torture and acts of barbarism allegedly committed in Liberia between 1993 and 1994. Known as “Kunti-K” among other war names, the 48-year-old is being prosecuted…
The Swiss Federal Criminal Court has announced dates to hear the appeal of convicted Liberian war criminal, Alieu Kosiah. In June 2021 the Court sentenced Kosiah to 20 years in prison for war crimes during Liberia’s first civil war in June 2021. The Court, in the Alps town of Bellinzona, will hold hearings on Kosiah’s…
By Anthony Stephens, New Narratives Senior Justice Reporter United Kingdom police have arrested and detained a man in his 40s on war crimes charges for his alleged role in the Liberian civil war in the 1990s and early 2000s. The arrest of the man, whose name is being withheld by UK Metropolitan police, “follows a…
MONROVIA – A US court has ordered Moses Thomas, the former Armed Forces of Liberia commander found liable for the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church massacre, to pay $US84 million to four victims of the brutal killings that caught the world’s attention in 1990. By Anthony Stephens, Senior Justice Reporter with New Narratives An estimated 600 people,…
By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives United States authorities have charged Moses Wright, one of the most important figures in the turmoil that engulfed Liberia in the late 1980s and 90s, with immigration fraud and perjury related to his actions during the Liberian civil war. The indictment alleges Wright, 69, a cousin of late Liberian…
It was one of the most shocking events of the Liberian civil war. In April 1900 troops with then-President Samuel Doe’s Special Anti-Terrorist Unit shot and hacked to death 600 people including babies taking refuge in Monrovia’s St Peters Lutheran Church. Images of the carnage were broadcast around the world. The massacre kicked off a…
In part three of this three-part series Anthony Stephens looks at the Liberian government’s efforts to get tough on human trafficking. In September 2021 the Liberian government sent a signal it was getting tough on human trafficking. The Legislature passed a revision to a 2005 law increasing the prison sentence for anyone found guilty of…
MONROVIA – A disgraced agent of the National Security Agency has gone on trial with his brother for allegedly taking payments from international trafficking agents to mislead young Liberian women into traveling to the Middle Eastern country of Oman where they were to work as domestic servants. The indictment alleges Arthur Chan-Chan, and his brother…
Monrovia – Liberian state prosecutors have called off a three-week strike which paralyzed courts across the country. The prosecutors, who represent the government in legal cases, were demanding the government increase their monthly salaries and provide benefits, including vehicles. But after a lengthy meeting among themselves, the prosecutors have conditionally agreed to return to work. By…
In part two of this three-part investigation Front Page Africa and New Narratives look at efforts to repatriate women trafficked to Oman and efforts to bring traffickers to justice. Monrovia – After a harrowing six months in Oman Sarah and Kolu, victims of human trafficking, returned home in early March. Their families were vexed with…
Monrovia – In separate chilly mornings in September and October 2021 Sarah and Kolu defied the weather to travel to Roberts International Airport with one thing in mind: a trip to “paradise,” where all their sufferings and hardship would end. The pair, cousins in their 20s whose names FPA/NN is concealing for their security, say…
Monrovia – A Liberian man facing a minimum 20-year sentence for trafficking nearly 200 Liberian women to Oman has skipped bail and vanished leaving victims angry. Cephas Selebay, believed to be in his early 30s, worked as an accountant for the Forestry Training Institute in Bomi County before he was arrested in August. By: Anthony…
MONROVIA-It has been four years since a gas station and minimart owned by George Kailondo, the businessman and politician with the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change political party, were constructed on SKD Boulevard in Paynesville. The building, constructed on wetlands protected by the Liberian government under an international agreement to help save an important and…
A key former ally of Gibril Massaquoi, the Revolutionary United Front commander, says a Finnish District Court got it wrong when it acquitted Massaquoi of charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Liberia….
Monrovia – The government, through the Ministry of Justice and the Financial Intelligence Unit of Liberia, has secured a freezing order on accounts of the Chief Executive Officer at Royal Gold Trading Company INC. and his two Managers at 10 Liberian Banks. According to a court document in the possession of FrontPageAfrica, the government sought the…
It was one of the most shocking events of the Liberian civil war. In April 1900 troops with then-President Samuel Doe’s Special Anti-Terrorist Unit shot and hacked to death 600 people including babies taking refuge in Monrovia’s St Peters Lutheran Church. Images of the carnage were broadcast around the world. The massacre kicked off a…
It was one of the most shocking events of the Liberian civil war. In April 1900 troops with then-President Samuel Doe’s Special Anti-Terrorist Unit shot and hacked to death 600 people including babies taking refuge in Monrovia’s St Peters Lutheran Church. Images of the carnage were broadcast around the world. The massacre kicked off a…
Coronavirus infections may have slowed but the economic fallout of the pandemic is still hurting millions of Liberians. Liberia’s economy has been shrinking since 2017. This was supposed to be the year the economy rebounded as gold and iron ore prices have risen. But for many, travel restrictions imposed to fight Covid-19 have devastated them….
