A Liberian identified as Alieu Kosiah has been found guilty of war crimes in a Swiss court, becoming the first Liberian to be convicted over the country’s dark civil war.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that he was sentenced to 20 years for crimes including murder and rape.
Recall that at least 250,000 people were killed in Liberia’s two conflicts between 1989 and 2003, and many thousands more displaced.
It is interesting to note that Switzerland recognises the principle of universal justice, meaning suspects accused of high-profile crimes elsewhere can be tried in its courts.
The trial was the first under a 2011 Swiss law that allows prosecution for war crimes committed anywhere in the world. It also marked the first time war crimes charges have been heard by a Swiss civilian court.
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Kosiah, 46, was a former rebel commander, who fled to Switzerland before being arrested there in 2014.
The 20-year sentence includes the six years he has already served in detention.
He was detained after a civil rights group, Civitas Maxima, presented the Swiss attorney general with evidence of his involvement in war crimes, including the deliberate killing of civilians, sexual violence, abuse of corpses and acts of cannibalism.
Liberia endured two bouts of brutal fighting from 1989 to 1997, after which Taylor became president and 1999 to 2003.
Before Kosiah’s guilty verdict, no Liberian had ever been convicted of crimes committed during the conflict. Taylor was, however, convicted in 2012 of committing war crimes in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
He is serving his 50-year sentence in a prison in the UK.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK