The way I see Liberia

With all the millions spent to construct the court building, to set up the prosecutorial team and the various works or inner workings in the setting up of the court, there are cries from several individuals on both sides of the isles to abandon the building and transfer the proceedings to a foreign land. I also heard cries from the court officials that more millions of dollars are needed to continue the proceedings.

I have a question for all those who were involved in the genesis of setting up this court, where there serious planning put into the establishment and the life span of this special court in Freetown, Sierra Leone? If so, then proceed with the plan and let the people who seek justice and the accused you have in detention get their day in court.

Another frightful phenomenon of this fiasco is the relationship between the Sierra Leone government, mainly the law officers department and the special court. I do not know for sure whether there are visible signs posted all around the vicinity of the special court which bar the taking of photographs; however, I learnt with disgust that a law-abiding tourist and his Sierra Leonean associates were arrested by the Sierra Leone Government for taking photos within the vicinity of the courthouse.

The case was originally heard at the Freetown Magistrate court No.1A and the magistrate ruled in favour of the defense, noting that since the law under which the accused persons were not operative in the law books of the country, Sierra Leone, he had no alternative but to acquaint and discharge all the accused persons. Many people including senior lawyers thought that was the end of the matter, but to the surprise of the court, the accused persons were rearrested and charged to court under the same charges and this time, the accused persons were dragged to the Freetown magistrate court No.1 and prosecuted by the law officers department.

Is that how justice is carried out in Freetown? The country now arrests law-abiding guests for acts that are not even on the law books as an infringement of the law? I believe the Sierra Leone government does not have any clue as to her roll in disseminating justice with respect to the special court. In one instance, the government of Sierra Leone will outrightly express the view that the special court has her own laws and law enforcing officers; however, under the same breath, the Sierra Leone government disgracefully violates the rights of law-abiding individuals in the name of the special court.

There are individuals who are in positions of trust in the highest echelon within their respective governments in most of the West African States, and in a few other African States and other foreign nations, with direct involvement in the conflict for which the special court was setup. From where I sit and as a result of my naive ignorance, it has appeared that the court was created for only one sole individual. This sole individual was at first, after several years of studying the case of his allegedly involvement, charged with 17 counts of charges that have now been dropped to 11 counts and I am certain that the number will dwindle and be reduced to just a few before the actual start of the case. What a joke!

What are the facts?

On June 12, 2000, the Sierra Leonean President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah wrote a letter to the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan asking the international community to try those responsible for crimes committed during the country's violent conflict. President Kabbah said that he believed the crimes were so grave as to be "of concern to all persons in the world." After considering the letter, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1315 on August 14, 2000 requesting the UN Secretary General to start negotiations to create a Special Court. On January 16, 2002, an agreement establishing the Court was signed between the Government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations, to try those indicted for war crimes committed during the ten-year civil war. The first staff to work at the Special Court arrived in Freetown in July of 2002.

The Special Court had a three-year mandate that expired in early 2005. The Special Court and the national courts of Sierra Leone have concurrent jurisdiction, but the Special Court’s decisions take precedence over national courts.

Since its founding in 2002, the annual budget has been a relatively low at $20 million per year, compared to $100 million each for the tribunals in Rwandan and the former Yugoslavia. According to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, there will be a budget gap of around $20 million for the Court’s third year.

The Court is to try those who bear greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone after the 30th. of November 1996. The accused were Charles Taylor, Foday Sankoh*, Johnny Paul Koroma*, Sam Bockarie*, Sam Hinga Norman, Moinina Fofana, Allieu Kondewa, Issa Hassan Sesay, Morris Kallon, Augustine Gbao, Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu. * Implies died under strange circumstances.

The accused are charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of international humanitarian law. Specifically, the crimes included murder, rape, extermination, acts of terror, enslavement, looting and burning, sexual slavery, conscription of children into an armed force, forced marriage and attacks on United Nations peacekeepers and humanitarian assistance workers, among others.

Although individually charged, they have been grouped into three separate trials. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) trial consisting of Kallon, Gbao and Sesay began on July 5, 2004. The Civil Defence Forces (CDF) trial consisting of Norman, Fofana and Kondewa commenced on June 3, 2004. The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) trial consisting of Brima, Kamara and Kanu began in March of 2005. Charles Taylor was surrendered to the Special Court on March 29, 2006. All ten individuals have pleaded not guilty and are provided with defense representation paid for by the Registry of the Special Court. I believe Taylor might be tried in a separate trial since he was not part of any of the predetermined groups. The defense teams are comprised of both Sierra Leonean and international lawyers. If the accused were found guilty, they may be sentenced to prison terms and or have their property and possessions taken from them. The Judges cannot impose the death penalty. God bless us all.