Politico Staff Writer
A former Revolutionary United Front commander has instituted legal action against two civil rights organizations and their officials in the courts in Liberia. Lawyers acting for Gibril Massaquoi who now lives in Tampere, Finland filed the case with the office of the Justice of the Peace for Montserrado County, asking the court to “adjudge” Civitas Maxima, a group that represents victims of war crimes against humanity and Global Justice and Research Project, GJRP “liable for subjecting him (Massaquoi) to malicious prosecution and wrong perpetrated against the plaintiff by the defendants.”
Lawyer Eugene Lamie Massaquoi of the Jallah Law firm also asked the court to “award the plaintiff US$ 20 million in punitive damages and US$ 30 Million for all and sundry presented in the complaint and as general compensatory damages sufficient enough to restore the plaintiff’s prestige and reputation and compensate him for the injury against his person.”
Massaquoi, who has been living in Finland since the end of the civil war in Sierra Leone was arrested by Finnish police on allegations that he committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Liberia between 1999 and 2003. The alleged crimes included sexual violence, homicide and the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
The Liberian court has summoned Hassan Bility of the Global Justice and Research Project and Alain Werner of Civitas Maxima of Geneva, Switzerland to appear for the commencement of adjudication on 17th June, 2024.
Massaquoi was in January 2024 set free by a Finnish Court of Appeal on all four counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity alleged to have been committed in Liberia during the country’s civil war.
He was earlier tried by a District Court in Finland but it was proven by his defence team that between 2002-2008 he was a prosecution witness at the UN backed war crimes Special Court for Sierra Leone and he could not have evaded the round the clock protection, to enter Liberia, not to talk of participating in the conflict at the time and committing the alleged crimes.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (12/06/24)
