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It took several minutes for M.e Marilyne Secci translates into English for the accused the sentence for which he had just been sentenced. Encased in a black down jacket, Kunti Kamara did not show any reaction. After nine hours of deliberation, the Paris Assize Court followed the requisitions of the public prosecutor by condemning, Wednesday, November 2, the former rebel commander to life imprisonment for “acts of barbarism” committed during Liberia’s first civil war (1989-1996) and surrendered “accomplice in crimes against humanity” by condoning the rapes of Esther N. and Rebecca K. The two women had come from Liberia to testify in court and identify the accused.
“Witnesses made the trip to be heard. They were thirsty for justice and France has just given them back [justice], said Alain Werner, director of Civitas Maxima, a Swiss NGO behind the 2018 complaint against Kunti Kamara. This verdict gives hope to all victims in Liberia, and so many others around the world. It proves that if they organize themselves, come together and collect credible evidence, they can obtain recognition of their suffering. » The defense declined to comment after the verdict. She has ten days to appeal.
This historic trial, the first in France for abuses perpetrated in Liberia, where justice has never been done, was held under “universal jurisdiction” which makes it possible to judge serious crimes wherever they were committed, when the suspect is arrested on French territory. In 2018, Kunti Kamara was arrested in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis) as he tried to flee to Portugal before, most likely, flying to Guinea.
An accused who claims to be the victim of a “conspiracy”
Because the facts are old and at the time of the first civil war, “Liberia only knew chaos and devastation”, in the words of Advocate General Claire Thouault, the accused was convicted without material evidence but on the basis of testimonies. The court, made up of three professional magistrates and six jurors, considered that the twelve witnesses and eight civil parties who had formally identified him were trustworthy.
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