The Massaquoi Trial: Double or quits before a Finnish court
5 March 2021By Thierry Cruvellier, special envoy in Liberia
The first hearings in Gibril Massaquoi’s trial before a Finnish court temporarily relocated to Liberia have outlined the controversial shape of the case. The prosecution is counting on mass witness testimony, while the defence is pointing to alleged mistaken identity and inconsistencies.
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What can the Swiss learn from the Finns on judging Liberian war crimes? Published on Share
More than five years after his arrest, a former Liberian rebel leader is currently on trial in Switzerland for alleged war crimes. Though hailed as a landmark trial, similar proceedings in Finland went ahead at a much faster pace. What did the Finnish court do differently? Could the Swiss approach have been more efficient?
Closely linked civil wars in Liberia and neighbouring Sierra Leone in the 1990s and early 2000s devastated the region. They left hundreds of thousands dead, millions of displaced and were marked by atrocities including mutilation of civilians, systematic rape, cannibalism, abduction of children and use of child soldiers.