Sierra Leone militia leaders sentenced
By CLARENCE ROY-MACAULAY, Associated Press Writer Tue Oct 9, 6:24 PM ET FREETOWN, Sierra Leone - A U.N.-backed court sentenced two former leaders of a pro-government militia to six and eight years in prison Tuesday for brutalities committed during Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war. ADVERTISEMENT The ruling was a victory for the defense, as the prosecution had asked for 30-year terms. It also reflected the ambiguity with which Sierra Leone has viewed atrocities committed by a militia that fought rebel movements accused of worse abuses. Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa were among the leaders of the Civil Defense Forces, which used a network of tribal-based hunters known as the Kamajors to fight various rebel groups during the 1991-2002 war. It was accused of torturing and mutilating civilians. Fofana and Kondewa were both convicted Aug. 2 on four counts of murder, cruel treatment, pillage and issuing collective punishment. Kondewa was convicted on an additional count of conscripting child soldiers. Kondewa was sentenced to eight years and Fofana to six years. The terms will be counted from when they were taken into custody by the court in May 2003, meaning Fofana could be free in two more years. Both men issued public statements expressing regret for their militia's role in the bloody war. The charges against the Civil Defense Forces have fueled controversy in this West African country, where many argue that the tribal-based militia should be praised as patriots. The sole Sierra Leonean judge on the three-judge panel voted against conviction on all counts, but was overruled by judges from Cameroon and Canada in 2-1 verdicts. Presiding Judge Benjamin Itoe said the sentences were short partly because the Civil Defense Forces "contributed immensely to re-establishing the rule of law in this country where criminality, anarchy and lawlessness ... had become the order of the day." Still, he added, the brutality of their methods could not go unpunished. The head of the Civil Defense Forces, Sam Hinga Norman, had also been indicted, but died earlier this year. The court was set up after the war to hold accountable those who led various groups that burned villages, chopped off people's hands with machetes and went on campaigns of rape. It is estimated 500,000 people were victims of killings, mutilation and other atrocities. <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071009/ap_on_re_af/sierra_leone_war_crimes <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071009/ap_on_re_af/sierra_leone_war_crimes\ > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
