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SCSL
SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE (SCSL)
The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), located in Freetown, is an independent judicial body established to “try those who bear greatest responsibility” for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 during the Sierra Leone Civil War. The court was created with the joint agreement of the Sierra Leonean government and the United Nations signed on 16 January 2002.
The first indictments were brought on 7 March 2003. Thirteen individuals have been indicted to date for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other violations of international humanitarian law. Three indictments have since been dropped due to the deaths of the indictees. Of the ten remaining, nine are currently in the custody of the Court. Each person is individually charged, but the trials have been divided into four groups: (1) Civil Defense Forces (CDF) leaders; (2) Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leaders; (3) Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) leaders and; (4) Charles Taylor.
On 20 June 2007 the three AFRC suspects Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara, and Santigie Borbor Kanu, were each convicted of eleven of fourteen counts. These counts include acts of terrorism, collective punishments, extermination, murder as a crime against humanity, murder as a war crime, rape, outrages upon personal dignity, physical violence, recruitment of child soldiers under the age of fifteen, enslavement, and pillage. On 19 July 2007 Brima and Kanu were each sentenced to 50 years while Kamara was sentenced to 45.
On 2 August 2007 the two surviving CDF suspects Allieu Kondewa and Moinina Fofana were convicted of murder, cruel treatment, pillage and collective punishments. Kondewa was also found guilty of conscripting child soldiers. On 9 October 2007 Kondewa was sentenced to eight years and Fofana was sentenced to six. The CDF trial was the most controversial, as many Sierra Leoneans saw the CDF as protectors from the RUF. The court considered the fact that the CDF’s helped in re-establishing the rule of law in Sierra Leone as a mitigating factor in imposing the sentences.
For more information, please see:
Official Site for the Special Court for Sierra Leone
Global Policy Forum – Special Court for Sierra Leone
Jurist – Special Court for Sierra Leone news
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