Sierra Leonean rebel leader, Gibril Massaquoi, who is standing trial in Finland for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Liberia, has been released from prison ahead of the verdict in his case, expected in coming months. By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives Massaquoi’s charges include rape, ritual murder and recruitment of child soldiers,…
West Africa Justice Reporting Project
Massaquoi Lawyer Confident of Acquittal in War Crimes Trial
MONROVIA, Liberia – The lawyer for accused war criminal Gibril Massaquoi’s says he is confident of his client will be acquitted. Speaking outside the court at the start of week two of the court’s unexpected return to Liberia, Kaarle Gummerus did not accept this reporter’s invitation to make a full-throated claim of Massaquoi’s innocence, but he…
Witness: Massaquoi Escaped Hours Before Arrest by Taylor
By Mae Azango Senior Justice Correspondent with New Narratives MONROVIA, Liberia – A witness at the ongoing war crimes trial of ex-Sierra Leonean rebel leader Gibril Massaquoi has told the Finnish court hearing the case that then Liberian President Charles Taylor heard that Massaquoi was a spy and ordered his arrest. Massaquoi was given warning…
‘STABBED AND BEATEN TO DEATH’ – Witness Testifies Taylor Ordered Brutal Murder of RUF Leader Bockarie
“Taylor sent Benjamin Yeaten to Ganta to put things under control… Yeaten’s deputy was the first that stabbed Bockarie on the back. He escaped in a cocoa farm but was overpowered and beaten to death.” – Witness X5 By Gerald C. Koinyeneh with New Narratives MONROVIA, Liberia – A witness testifying before a Finnish Court in the…
More Witnesses Put Massaquoi in Monrovia When Under UN-Witness Protection in Sierra Leone
Mae Azango Senior Justice correspondent with New Narratives MONROVIA, Liberia – The trial of Gibril Massaquoi has continued to focus on the central explosive question of whether the defendant escaped UN witness protection in Freetown in June-August 2003 to commit war crimes in neighboring Liberia. Massaquoi was under witness protection for his role informing on ex-combatants…
Victims Angry as Another Accused Liberian Warlord- Melvin Sogbandi- Dies Without Facing Justice
Death has taken another of the 100 alleged perpetrators that Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended face trial for their crimes during the Civil war.Melvin Sogbandi died in a Monrovia hospital in January at age 53. Sogbandi led “Strike Force Marine,” one of the deadliest divisions of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia ….
NPFL General on TRC “Most Notorious” List Dies; Angry Victims Say He Escaped Justice
***CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story carried an image of a family member of Melvin Sogbandi. FrontPage Africa and New Narratives regret the error *** By Eric Opa Doue, Senior New Narratives Justice Reporter JUAH TOWN, Grand Bassa – James Diggs broke down in tears when he heard the news of the death of Melvin Sogbandi….
Rescued Girls Describe Female Genital Cutting; Mothers Pursue Justice
The three girls, all high school students, say they were abducted by traditional leaders in September and taken by force to the Sande without the consent of their parents. They spent six terrifying weeks at the Bush school before their desperate mothers finally discovered their location and rescued them….
Thomas Dismisses Ruling Against Him
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…
LGBTQ Liberian Fired From High Profile US Job
One of the most high-profile Liberians in the United States has lost his job after being caught up in the sexual harassment scandal that took down New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Alphonso David, 50, was the head of the Human Rights Campaign, the most powerful group lobbying for the rights of LGBTQ Americans, until last…
Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh visits accused “war criminal” Alieu Kosiah’s Liberia stronghold – Part 2
As Liberian rebel commander Alieu Kosiah faces a war crimes trial in Switzerland, Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh visits his civil war stronghold of Foya. She speaks to survivors about the extent of Kosiah’s alleged looting and love of money, that got him the war name “Physical Cash.”…
Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh visits accused “war criminal” Alieu Kosiah’s Liberia stronghold – Part 1
Liberia’s civil war ended 18 years ago, but some of the child soldiers from that conflict are still fighting. It’s a battle not against human enemies, but against drugs and the addiction that has devasted their lives ever since the war.A series of efforts to rehabilitate former child soldiers have mostly failed. Drug trafficking through…
Harsh Punishment Could Deter Pirates In Liberia
(Last Updated On: May 25, 2021) PHOTO: DC World Film Director Shadrach Gaye and some apparently pirated films being sold in Monrovia By William Selmah, [email protected] A Liberian artist is predicting doom for the movie sector and the entire creative industry unless stern measures are taken to clamp down on piracy and related crimes within the…
Mandingo population say they are being targeted in war crimes trials and stigmatized anew
The recent conviction of former Ulimo commander Alieu Kosiah in Switzerland brought celebrations in many parts of Liberia. Kosiah was the first Liberian to face trial for war crimes committed in Liberia. Many victims felt it was justice at last. But for some in Liberia’s Mandingo community it sparked anger. The conviction of Kosiah, following…
Speaker Chambers Accused of Blocking War Crimes Court, But Fails to Comment
New Narratives Fellow Anthony Stephens of Power TV/FM with the piece that prompted Thursday’s dispute in the Liberian Senate saying Speaker Chambers is blocking legislation to establish a War Crimes Court in Liberia….
Despite LURD Atrocities Survivors are Split Over Call for Justice
GBARMA, Gbarpolu County – When news broke that Jankuba Fofana had been arrested by British police as part of an investigation into war crimes one might have expected celebration here in Gbarma. Fofana is the first member of the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) to face justice for war crimes in Liberia’s…
Arrest of Ex-LURD General In UK Brings Faction’s War Crimes Out From The Shadows; In A War Filled With Shocking Brutality…
GBARMA, Gbarpolu County – Miatta Gray wept as she recalled the day, nearly 20 years ago, that rebels with the absurdly named “Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy” (LURD) upended her life. Mrs. Gray said the rebels arrived here with a friendly request that everyone assemble in the town square for a meeting. Then the killing…
Mandigoes Feel Targeted in War Crimes Trials, Bility Calls Claim “Ridiculous”
BARKEDU, Lofa County – The convictions of Alieu Kosiah and Mohammed Jabateh for war crimes committed in Liberia sparked celebrations across Liberia. 18 years since the war ended survivors saw them as long overdue justice for the horrors of the civil war. But Liberia’s Mandingo population has not felt the same way. “There are other people…
The Referendum Could Have Given Weah Possible Three Terms – Here’s What History Teaches Us
Until December, 2022, the possibility of a third term for Mr. Weah still looms, provided the entire process—from an act to a referendum—is completed by then. Yet, we should all be wary of any new extension referendum. History tells us this is not a good idea. This seed should not be allowed to germinate. According…
Rescued From Bush School, Girls Detail Trauma; Mothers Pursue Justice
Mount Barclay, LIBERIA – Going to the “Sande Bush” school was never a dream for Dearest, Tina or Precious. The three girls, all high school students, say they were abducted by traditional leaders in September and taken by force to the Sande without the consent of their parents. They spent six terrifying weeks at the…