Monrovia – The Finnish Court of Appeal this week upheld an acquittal verdict in favor of Djibril Massaquoi, a former commander and spokesperson for the Sierra Leone Revolutionary United Front. Massaquoi was arrested by Finnish authorities in 2020 and later charged with atrocities committed during Liberia’s civil war.
Victoria G. Wesseh, FPA Justice Reporter
Massaquoi was accused in Liberia of rape, ritualistic murder, and recruitment of child soldiers.
The district court initially found in its judgment that the Finnish public prosecutor’s office had not proven that Mr. Massaquoi was guilty of any of the crimes he was charged with. However, following the Court of Appeal’s decision on January 31, 2024, Jibril’s Liberian lawyer, Cllr. Jonathan T. Massaquoi (no relation), said the acquittal was a victory for the rule of law. .
Mr Massaquoi and his Finnish lawyer chose Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi, during the district court’s first two-month trip to Liberia in early February 2023 to hear testimony from Liberian witnesses.
The creation of a local court in Liberia is a collaboration between Hassan Bility, founder of the Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP), and Ariane Werner & Civitas Maxima, an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. This is the result of a complaint filed by both Mr.
Both parties argued that there were Liberian witnesses willing to testify against Jibril Massaquoi’s atrocities in Lofa County and Monrovia in 2001. However, in a press conference, Masakui accused Bitilitari and Werner of coaching witnesses to give misleading testimony in exchange for money. Profit.
According to Cllr, Mr Massaquoi’s main priorities were to research Liberian law and interpret Finnish law. Clr. Mr Massaquoi is reportedly being considered for nomination by President Joseph Numa Boakai to the post of Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
Clr. Massaquoi has been on a roll lately. He recently represented Agnes Reeves Taylor, ex-wife of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. Madam Agnes Reeves Taylor is seeking a US$15 million defamation suit against Mr. Werner, Mr. Civitas Maxima and Mr. Birti in the Liberian Civil Court, citing the prosecution in the English courts.
In the Djibril Massaquoi case, the Court of Appeal ruled that the prosecution’s claims that specific murders were committed in Lofa County and Monrovia could not be proven.
The Court of Appeal said only a few witnesses identified Massaquoi as the perpetrator in connection with the Lofa County incident. “All these identifications were made after Mr. Massaquoi was arrested in Finland in March 2020, and the arrest was published in the media with a photo of Mr. Massaquoi included in the report.”
The Court of Appeal said evidence presented in the case suggests that Mr. Massaquoi was not in Lofa County at the time of the crimes mentioned in the complaint, between August and December 2001. The judgment noted that it was established that he had been residing in the secure premises of the Special Court for Sierra Leone in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, from March 2003 until after August 18, 2003.
According to the evidence presented in this lawsuit, there was no massaquoi presence in the secure area for several days when it was not reliably managed. “The evidence, assessed as a whole, shows that Mr. Massaquoi was not in Liberia at the time of the commission of the crimes in Monrovia referred to in the complaint (i.e. between May 1 and August 8, 2003). ”, the court’s decision stated.