A Liberian accused of having been a rebel leader during the deadly civil war that tore his country (1989-2003) has been arrested in the United States, suspected of having hidden his past to obtain a residence permit, said Tuesday March 29 to AFP the judicial authorities of Pennsylvania. Laye Sekou Camara, “alias K1, alias “General Dragon Master”, suspected of having belonged to the Lurd rebellion, was arrested “Saturday” at JFK international airport in New York, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office said in an email to AFP. of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Read alsoIn Liberia, hope for change with George Weah
Arrived in the United States in 2011, Camara is accused of having declared that he had never been part of a paramilitary organization, a rebel group or a guerrilla, while filling out the forms to obtain a title of stay, which gave him access to a ‘green card’. On the contrary, “He was a high-ranking member of the Lurd”the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy rebel group, active and bloody during Liberia’s “second civil war” (1999-2003), explains the report of a DHS agent specializing in crimes of war, on which American justice relied.
According to this report, Laye Sekou Camara is recognizable in archival footage and former US ambassador to Liberia John Blaney and a former defense attaché confirmed having directly negotiated with him during the civil war in 2003. No extradition is planned and the suspect must still be presented to the Philadelphia court to rule on his possible pre-trial detention.
Read alsoLiberia on the mysterious trail of its missing billions
So far, no official has been prosecuted or convicted in Liberia for crimes committed during the civil war, which claimed 250,000 lives and was marked by numerous massacres. A few trials have taken place or are pending in Switzerland, Finland or France, but many personalities involved in the conflict still hold important economic and political positions in Liberia.
“We are committed to holding alleged combat commanders who lie about their wartime activities to seek refuge in the United States accountable”, assured the attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Jennifer Arbittier Williams. In a similar case, a former warlord, Mohammed Jabateh, nicknamed “Jungle Jabbah”, was sentenced in 2018 to 30 years in prison in Philadelphia for lying about his activities in the ULIMO rebellion to obtain papers.