It’s a mantra repeated by government officials, activists and the international community: Liberia’s victims and survivors must be at the heart of efforts to bring justice for crimes committed in the country’s long civil wars that ended in 2003. But now the office to establish the War and Economic Crimes Courts is finally taking shape, victims and survivors say they have been excluded from the process….
FrontPage Africa
Boakai’s UN Ambassador Pick Rejects Claim His Appointment Would Deter Donors to War Crimes Court as UN Peacebuilding Committee Visit Wraps Up
Lewis Brown, President Joseph Boakai’s controversial pick for Ambassador to the United Nations, said he is innocent of the economics crimes allegations leveled against him in the country’s 2009 Truth and Reconciliation Commission report. …
Victims and Advocates “Angry” Warlord Prince Johnson’s Death Means He Will Not Face Justice; Call for Urgency in Establishing War Crimes Court
Human rights advocates and victims’ groups are angry over the death of Prince Johnson, the accused notorious warlord, who died suddenly in Paynesville early Thursday morning….
Outgoing US Special Advisor Urges Liberia to Move Towards “Trade Not Aid” By Cleaning Up Corruption and Investing in Electricity and Multi-User Rail
In a brief visit, Sarah Morgenthau, outgoing US President Joe Biden’s Special Representative for the Office of Commercial and Business Affairs, pressed the Liberian government to urgently improve its investment environment so the US-Liberia relationship can move more quickly to one based on investment by American companies rather than aid from the US taxpayer….
New War Crimes Court Office Head Says He is Assured of President Boakai’s Commitment to Seeing Justice Done Though Little Funding Has Been Made Available
It’s been just one month on the job for Dr. Jallah Allen Barbu, as the country’s second head of Liberia’s Office for the War and Economics Crimes Court….
How Many Warlords Have to Be Tried to Bring Justice? That’s the Question Facing Liberia’s Future War Crimes Court
Justice activists are adamant that justice for atrocities committed during Liberia’s civil conflicts since 1979 is essential to entrenching the rule of law and ending a sense of impunity that has thrived in the country. But how many people need to face justice for those benefits to be delivered?…
Four Months After U.S. Downgrade, Amid Warning of Cut in Aid, Liberian Gov. Loses Human Trafficking Case, Prosecutors Claim Jurors Didn’t Understand the Crime
Liberia has lost a human trafficking case, four months after being downgraded to tier 2 watchlist in the 2024 annual U.S. government’s Trafficking in Persons report, amid warning by U.S. officials of a cut in “nonessential aid” if the country continues to underwhelming perform in tackling the issue….
Lawyers for Lutheran Church Massacre Survivors Describe Ecowas Court Ruling Against Them as “Disappointing”
Lawyers for victims of the 1990 St. Peter’s Lutheran Church massacre by Armed Forces of Liberia troops under the rule of then-president Samuel Doe, have described this month’s ruling by the Ecowas Community Court of Justice against their clients as “disappointing.”…
Dr. Jallah Barbu Pledges to Work with Everyone “to Address Impunity at Highest Level” as Head of Office of War and Economic Crime Courts
Dr. Jallah Allen Barbu, a former presidential candidate and dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law of the University of Liberia, has pledged to work with everyone as the new Executive Director of the Office of War and Economic Crimes Courts….
US War Crimes Ambassador Pledges Support for New War Crimes Court Head on Eve of US Election Which Could Decide Future of the Court
Key US officials – Beth Van Schaack, Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice, and the US embassy in Liberia – have separately given a boost to Dr. Jallah Barbu, the new executive director of the Office of Liberia’s War and Economic Crimes Courts, by pledging to work with him….
Liberia: Rights Groups Criticize Appointment of Accused Economic Criminal Lewis Brown as UN Ambassador as Liberia Seeks International Support for War Time Justice
Two leading Liberian human rights organizations have condemned President Joseph Boakai’s nomination of Lewis Brown, an accused econimic criminal, as the country’s ambassador to the United Nations just as the country is asking the international community to support a war and economic crimes court….
10,000 Mpox Vaccine Doses on the Way to Liberia
Liberia is set to receive 10,000 doses of the mpox vaccine to help protect the country from the outbreak which has claimed at least 1,000 lives worldwide….
Siaway Miapue
Siaway Miapue is an award-winning investigative journalist with seven years of experience. Known for producing compelling stories with a focus on health and environmental reporting, he was honored in 2023 as the recipient of Liberia’s first Young Journalist Award, funded by USAID Media Activities through Internews, a global development media organization. Miapue is currently a contributing…
French Court of Appeal upholds Guilty Verdict for Liberian Warlord
An appeal court here has upheld the 2022 conviction of Kunti Kamara, a former commander of the Ulimo rebel group, for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Lofa County during Liberia’s first civil war….
Lawyers for Former Rebel Commander Demand French Appeal Court to Acquit
As the appeal of a former commander of the rebel group Ulimo, of his 2022 war crimes conviction enters its final days, defense lawyers for Kunti Kamara called on the three judge panel and nine jurors to overturn the conviction saying there is a lack of evidence Kamara committed the crimes. …
French Court Of Appeal Throws Out Rebel Commander Claim he was Underage When Crimes Took Place
The judge in former Liberian warlord, Kunti Kamara’s appeal of his 2022 conviction for war crimes, dealt a blow to Kamara’s case on Monday by striking out his two challenges to the charges….
Defense Lawyers Claim Statute of Limitations Means Rebel Cannot be Tried for 1993 War Crimes
Lawyers defending Liberian warlord, Kunti Kamara, in his appeal of his 2022 conviction for war crimes, advanced their second challenge to the case in court Friday, arguing that France’s statute of limitations for such crimes is ten years meaning Kamara should not have been charged in 2018 with the crimes that took place in 1993….
Former Liberia TRC Commissioner Gives Emotional Testimony of War Atrocities to French Appeal Court
Massa Washington took many pauses. Her voice trembled with sorrow. When she could not control it, the former commissioner with Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, sobbed quietly, a testament to the trauma she still carries as a victim of the war and from hearing the testimonies of 22,000 victims of Liberia’s civil wars….
Defense Witness Contradicts Rebel Commander’s Claim he Was Not in Civilian Areas in Paris Court
One of former Ulimo rebel commander Kunti Kamara’s own witnesses contradicted his testimony in Kamara’s appeal of his 2022 conviction for war crimes here on Wednesday….
Liberia: Former Rebel Commander Confirms Human Beings Killed, Cut into Pieces, and Sold in Wheelbarrow in Foya in French Court
“Fine Boy” Kamara was one of the most notorious leaders of the Ulimo rebel group when it terrorized the town of Foya, Lofa County in Liberia between 1993 and 1994….
Convicted Liberian Rebel Leader Tells French Court Guinean Government Supported Rebel Faction
War convict, Kunti Kamara, told the French court hearing his appeal of his 2022 conviction here for war crimes that his faction, that his rebel faction United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) was heavily supported by the Guinea government. …