A Paris court Wednesday sentenced a former Liberian rebel commander to life imprisonment as it found him guilty of violence against civilians and complicity in crimes against humanity.
Kunti Kamara convicted for war crimes
Kunti Kamara perpetrated the crimes between 1993 and 1994. During this time he reportedly ate the heart of a teacher and did not prevent soldiers under his command from repeatedly raping two teenage girls. He also tortured and was involved in “barbaric acts” in 1993. At the time he was a member of a rebel group, the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO), which was active during the conflict.
Kamara committed the crimes during Liberia’s first civil war, a West African country. Various rights groups welcomed the conviction.
The crime against humanity division of the Paris court brought the case to the fore. The division was constituted in 2012 to try suspects of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide detained on French soil, even if the crime was done elsewhere.
According to the British news agency Reuters, his lawyer Maryline Secci would appeal the sentence. Meanwhile, Kamara has maintained his innocence.
Liberia Civil War
During the period between 1989 and 2003, Liberia witnessed conflicts killing around 250,000 people. The conflicts took place when then-president Charles Taylor stepped down, he had seized power in a coup that sparked the rebellion.
During the civil war, thousands of Liberians were mutilated and women were raped in conflicts involving fighters who were drugged and children who were forcefully recruited by warlords.
A commission was established in 2006 to look into crimes committed during the war, but critics claim that its recommendations have not been largely followed through. According to what rights groups say, convictions for the crimes have been almost nil and all prosecutions regarding severe crimes have taken place outside Liberia.
An NGO brought Kamara’s case in 2018 in front of French authorities. His was the first trial in France of the nature involving serious crimes committed abroad and not connected to the Rwandan genocide.
It was conceivable due to France’s recognition of universal jurisdiction over some major crimes, which makes it possible to bring charges no matter how or by whom the conduct was committed.
Associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, Elise Keppler, in a statement said, “The French court’s verdict is a ray of hope that justice is possible for the victims in Liberia.”
Witnesses testified about killings, rapes, beatings, and torture committed by ULIMO members who fought against Taylor’s army throughout the four-week trial.
Alieu Kosiah, a different ULIMO member, was given a 20-year prison term in Switzerland last year, while Taylor received a war crimes sentence in 2012—but solely for actions in neighboring Sierra Leone. In 2009, a US court sentenced his son Chuckie to prison in Liberia for torture.
