TAMPERE, Finland – Gibril Massaquoi’s frustration at facing war crimes charges that could send him to jail for life came through on his second day of testimony Friday. The 51-year-old, who must have thought his risk of war crimes charges ended when he was settled in Finland in return for testimony that helped convict former Liberian President Charles Taylor and others in the Special Court for Sierra Leone, snapped at Finnish State Prosecutor Tom Laitinen’s questions.
“You are the one that’s missing the point,” he snapped at Laitinen, saying that the prosecutor was mixing the roles that different parties to the conflict had played. Laitinen was challenging the defense’s description of the routes taken by Massaquoi as part of delegation for the Sierra Leonean rebel group the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) that traveled between Sierra Leone and Liberia during Sierra Leone’s peace process in 2000 and early 2001. Massaquoi’s defense is seeking to show from his trave
Liberia: Defense Questions Timing of Alleged Events in Monrovia in Massaquoi Trial frontpageafricaonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from frontpageafricaonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Prosecution Alleges Gibril Massaquoi Directed Witnesses in War Crimes Trial
Prosecution Alleges Gibril Massaquoi Directed Witnesses in War Crimes Trial
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Gibril Massaquoi in opening day at the Pirkanmaa District Court in Tampere, Finland. Saila Huusko/New Narratives
TAMPERE, Finland – Prosecutors in the war crimes trial of Gibril Massaquoi alleged Friday that the defendant tried to influence witnesses in the case. State Prosecutor Tom Laitinen told presiding judge Juhani Paiho that a cleaner at the prison where Massaquoi was being held in pretrial detention found handwritten notes in the restroom of the family meeting area, following a meeting Massaquoi had with family on September 30th.
Prosecution, Defense Lawyers Tell Clashing Narratives on Third Day of Sierra Leonean War Crimes Suspect Trial in Finland frontpageafricaonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from frontpageafricaonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Finland Begins Hearing of Sierra Leonean Accused of War Crimes in Liberia
Finland Begins Hearing of Sierra Leonean Accused of War Crimes in Liberia
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War crimes suspect Gibril Massaquoi listens as charges against him are read in the Pirkanmaa District Court in Tampere, Finland. FrontPage Africa/Saila Huusko
TAMPERE, Finland – The trial of Gibril Massaquoi, a Sierra Leonean former rebel commander accused of committing war crimes in Liberia, began on Wednesday in the Finnish city of Tampere.
Massaquoi, 51, entered the Pirkanmaa District Court shortly after 10 am local time, wearing a gray pinstripe suit and a face mask. The session commenced with an official reading of the charges leveled against him by State Prosecutor Tom Laitinen.