The former 47 -year -old rebel chief was prosecuted before the Paris Assize Court under his “universal competence” for “acts of barbarism and complicity of crimes against humanity” during the First Civil War at the Liberia.
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It took several minutes for M e Marilyne Secci translated into English to the accused the sentence for which he had just been condemned. Embedded in a black down jacket, Kutunta Kamara has sketched any reaction. After nine hours of deliberation, the Paris Assize Court followed the requisitions of the public prosecutor by condemning, Wednesday, November 2, the former rebel commander to life imprisonment for “barbarism acts” committed during the First War Civil at Liberia (1989-1996) and having gone “accomplice of crimes against humanity” by questioning the rapes of Esther N. and Rebecca K. The two women had come from Liberia to testify at the bar of the court and identify the accused.
“Witnesses made the trip to be heard. They were thirsty for justice and France has just returned [justice], said Alain Werner, director of Civitas Maxima, a Swiss NGO at the origin of the complaint Taked up in 2018 against Kunti Kamara. This verdict gives hope to all the victims of Liberia, and so many others all over the world. It proves that if they organize, group together and collect credible evidence, they can Obtain recognition from their suffering. “The defense did not wish to comment after the verdict. She has ten days to call.
This historic trial, the first in France for abuses perpetrated in Liberia, where justice has never been done, has been held under “universal competence” which makes it possible to judge serious crimes wherever that They were committed when the suspect is arrested on French territory. In 2018, Kutunta Kamara had been arrested in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis) while he was trying to flee to Portugal before, most likely, to fly to Guinea.
an accused who says he is a victim of “conspiracy”
Because the facts are ancient and at the time of the first civil war, “Liberia only knew chaos and devastation”, in the words of the lawyer General Claire Thouault, the accused was condemned Without material evidence but on the basis of testimonies. The Court, made up of three professional magistrates and six jurors, estimated that the twelve witnesses and eight civil parties having formally identified it were worthy of faith.
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