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Swiss court confirms historic war crimes ruling against Liberia warlord

Swiss court confirms historic war crimes ruling against Liberia warlord

A Swiss court upheld a guilty verdict for war crimes in the case of a former Liberian rebel commander and convicted him of crimes against humanity in a landmark case. Alieu Kosiah, who fought in the 1990s against then-President Charles Taylor's army, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2021 for rape, murder and cannibalism in Switzerland's first ever war crimes trial. Those charges and others were upheld by the court although he was acquitted of ordering and inflicting cruel treatment, the Swiss Federal Court's appeal bench said in a statement. Four of his acts were deemed crimes…
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Liberian warlord’s trial concludes in Switzerland

Liberian warlord’s trial concludes in Switzerland

EMMA FARGE THE appeal hearings of a former Liberian rebel commander convicted of war crimes concluded in a trial that was broadened in its final stages to include crimes against humanity for the first time in Switzerland. Alieu Kosiah, who fought in the 1990s against then-President Charles Taylor's army, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2021 for rape, murder and cannibalism in one of the first trials for war crimes committed in the West African country. During the three weeks of appeal hearings at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, the defendant sought to overturn the lower court's ruling, arguing at…
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Liberian rebel commander shouts out at start of Swiss trial for cannibalism, rape

Liberian rebel commander shouts out at start of Swiss trial for cannibalism, rape

EMMA FARGE A former rebel commander accused of involvement in killing civilians, rape and eating pieces of a school teacher's heart during Liberia's civil war decried his long pre-trial detention in an outburst as proceedings began in Switzerland. The trial is just one of a handful of cases brought to international courts in connection with the West African country's 1989-2003 civil war, which became a byword for savagery and killed hundreds of thousands of people. The defendant, 45-year-old Alieu Kosiah, denies the charges. His lawyer said Kosiah, who was arrested in Switzerland in 2014, was not present in the area…
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