Hearings Begin In Landmark Liberia War-crimes Trial ibtimes.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ibtimes.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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
Frustration shows on final day of Massaquoi trial in Finland
Mr Massaquoi is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder and aggravated rape. 4 min read
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.
February 3, 2021 09:52:47 am
The trial of Sierra Leone national Gibril Massaquoi, accused of committing serious war crimes during Liberia’s second civil war between 1999 and 2003, began Monday in Findland’s Tampere District Court, where the state prosecution outlined the extent of the accused’s suspected crimes.
Having lived in the Tampere region for the past 10 years as a registered Finnish resident, 51-year-old Massaquoi was detained by the Finnish police last March. His arrest followed the conclusion of an inquiry conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation requesting that Massaquoi be placed in remand custody “on suspicion of murders and aggravated war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in exceptional circumstances.”
Case against Sierra Leone national suspected of murder, war crimes heads to Finnish court
The suspect has lived in Finland for 10 years and faces charges for crimes allegedly carried out two decades ago.
The suspect at a Pirkanmaa District Court remand hearing in March 2020, file photo.
Image: Antti Palomaa / Yle
The state prosecutor has filed charges against a Sierra Leone national who resides in Finland and is suspected of committing war crimes during Liberia s second civil war in 1999-2003.
The suspect, a Tampere resident who has lived in Finland for more than 10 years, was ordered to be held in remand custody by Pirkanmaa District Court on 12 March 2020.