SLCMP

Workshop on Media Monitoring of the Taylor Trial

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:35:43 PST

Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Programme (SLCMP) and the group called www.charlestaylortrial.org (OSI,OSJI, International Senior Lawyers Project and Clifford Chance) will jointly convene a workshop for media practitioners on media monitoring of the Charles Taylor trial from 18-20 August at the GGEMS Services, 57 John Street.

28th Edition of the Official Newsletter of the Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Programme

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:03:48 PST

Welcome to the 28th Edition of the Official Newsletter of the Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Programme

A Look at the Major Changes in the Three Gender Acts

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:11:02 PST

Prior to the enactment of the gender acts in 2007, the women in Sierra Leone, especially the rural women, were subjected to inhuman treatment and their human rights trampled upon. Wife battering, wife inheritance, forced marriage, to name but a few, are some of the disadvantages they were subjected to.

A Prospective on the Anti-Corruption Commission

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:05:47 PST

The 2008 Anti-Corruption Act, which is currently pending ratification by Parliament, promises to endow the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) with the power to independently prosecute and punish corruption. Such independence is long overdue; it was among the TRC’s imperative recommendations issued in 2005, and President Koroma has recently expressed his strong support for such changes. On Wednesday July 9, we spoke with Mr. Abdul Tejan-Cole, the Commissioner of the ACC, about the current state of the ACC, the pending Act, and his vision for the ACC in years to come.

Much-Needed First Must Not Also Be a Last: A Review of the Annual Report of the HRC-SL

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:33:40 PST

The Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRC-SL) released its first annual report earlier this month, commenting on how human rights have been observed or violated in this country throughout the period of January 2007 to December 2007. While the first two sections of the report focused on the background and activities of the HRC-SL itself, the third part, entitled “State of Human Rights in Sierra Leone,” closely examined the government’s adherence to its human rights’ commitments along with general concerns related to various sectors of society and a number of specific incidents reported by civilians. Part III of the report was extremely comprehensive and so cannot be summarized in its entirety here.

Weekly Summary of the Taylor Trial- Week of July 14-18, 2008

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:23:11 PST

The witness returned to his testimony regarding the killing of Sam Bockarie in 2003. The witness testified that while he was being held in jail in Monrovia, he overheard a BBC radio broadcast, reporting that Sam Bockarie had been killed. Later Jungle and Sylvester (colleague of Benjamin Yeaten) came to the witness and confirmed that they had killed Sam Bockarie, and had been given an order to kill any soldier who had accompanied Bockarie from Ivory Coast .

An Assessment of the Newly Re-Opened Approved School

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:04:50 PST

The re-opening of Approved School by the Justice Sector Development Programme (JSDP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs in late May this year, is viewed as welcome news to Civil Society Organizations and other Non Governmental Organizations advocating for children’s rights, and a hope for children in conflict with in the law. Chapter 44 of the Laws of Sierra Leone 1960 makes provisions for the establishment of the Approved School, where a child or young person convicted of criminal offences is sent for rehabilitation instead of being sent to prisons as a form of punishment.

Balancing the Rights of the Defendants in the RUF Trial

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:16:57 PST

The use of joint trials by international tribunals has been protested by defendants and subjected of close examination by legal practitioners, court monitors and judges alike. However, despite numerous decisions from international tribunals on both the fairness of joinder and the acceptable grounds for the severance of trials, difficult questions still arise as to how to best assure the rights of the accused once a joint trial has begun. One such question recently became a subject of heated debate during the RUF trial in Trial Chamber I of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, as the Gbao defense fought for the chance to present its evidence fully despite the risk of incriminating co-defendant Morris Kallon in the process. Overall, the Trial Chamber showed its respect for the importance of ensuring all rights of each of the accused, treading carefully through multiple days of questioning and objections to try to find the appropriate balance.

Weekly Summary of the Taylor Trial- Week of July 7- July 11, 2008

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:11:44 PST

The Prosecution continued its direct examination of Protected Witness 34 (TF1-567) in a closed session, to discuss matters related to security. When open session resumed, the witness testified that he was told by Daniel Tamba – aka “Jungle” – that after Sam Bockarie had returned to Freetown in 1999, “Pa” Charles Taylor agreed to train a group of Bockarie’s men as ATU. The witness testified that Sam Bockarie left the RUF to go to Monrovia because he had disagreements with other RUF commanders. Bockarie did not want to disarm before establishing a Government of National Unity, and feared the disarmament was a plot by the UN to arrest him. When Sam Bockarie arrived in Monrovia he had contact with Charles Taylor “all the time”.

Weekly Report on Taylor Trial Summary for the Week of June 30 – July 4, 2008

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:44:36 PST

This week, Trial Chamber II of the Special Court only held sessions on Wednesday 2 July and Friday 4 July, 2008, due to a Dutch holiday and the 10th On Wednesday, Prosecution Counsel Brenda Hollis called the next Prosecution witness, protected witness TF1-567. The witness testified under a pseudonym in Krio, with image and voice distortion. Part of the testimony was held in private sessions in order to protect the identity of the witness. During the afternoon session, the Principal Defender, Elizabeth Nahamya, made her first appearance sitting in on the Taylor trial.

27th Edition of the Official Newsletter of the Sierra Leone court Monitoring Programme

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:59:43 PST

Welcome to the 27th Edition of the official newsletter of the Sierra leone Court Monitoring Programme

Weekly Summary of the Taylor Trial – Week of June 23- June 27 2008

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:46:54 PST

On Monday morning, Defense Counsel Morris Anya concluded the cross-examination of Prosecution Witness TF1-584, Ms. Alice Pyne, a.k.a. ‘Apple of Action. Mr. Anya began where he left off Friday, asking the witness if she agreed with previous testimony given by Alimamy Bobson Sesay in April 2008 that the Red Lion Battalion was formed in Colonel Eddie Town. Ms. Pyne disagreed, submitting that it was actually formed by Gullit in Koinadugu.

Weekly Report on RUF Trial – Summary for the Week of June 23-June 27 2008

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:41:16 PST

This week brought the case for Augustine Gbao’s defense to a close, marking the end of the presentation of evidence by all of the accused. Only one witness was called to the stand, Mr. Johan Hederstedt, a military expert serving as a common witness for both the Sesay and Gbao defense teams. Mr. Hederstedt brought the number of witnesses called by the Gbao defense to a total of eight. Mr. Hederstedt, a retired general from the Swedish Armed Forces, was asked by the Sesay and Gbao defense teams to write a report regarding (1) his evaluation of the RUF as a military force in light of his knowledge of both guerilla movements and conventional armies and (2) issues of command and control within the RUF arising from that evaluation.

Weekly Report on Taylor Trial: Summary for the Week of June 16 – June 20, 2008

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:23:40 PST

Prosecution Counsel Bangura continued the direct examination of protected witness TF1-590 this week.The witness is a Sierra Leoneon who was living in Liberia from 1998-1999. Last week he had testified about being captured by Chucky Taylor (Charles Taylor, Jr.) and the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) in 1999. After a couple of escape attempts he was brought to Monrovia at Charles Taylor’s request.

Weekly Report on RUF Trial – Summary for the Week of June 16 – June 20, 2008

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:14:04 PST

The case for the Third Accused, Augustine Gbao, prepared to draw to a close this week as three more witnesses were called to the stand. The final remaining witness, an expert, will testify on Monday and Tuesday of next week. This week was marked by a prolonged debate about the need to balance the rights of one accused with those of a co-defendant, as John Cammegh, counsel for the Third Accused, fought to fully present his client’s defense, which had the potential to incriminate Morris Kallon, the Second Accused. The first two witnesses this week spoke of their personal experiences with Gbao punishing RUF misconduct, while the third witness, who served as Gbao’s driver for an extended period of time, testified in great detail as to Gbao’s version of the May 1, 2000, incident that led to the abduction of UNAMSIL personnel.

Weekly Report on Taylor – Summary for the Week of June 9 – June 13, 2008

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:11:17 PST

On Monday, Defense Counsel Morris Anya concluded cross-examination of Witness TF1-577, Albert Hindowa Saidu a.k.a Abor, a.k.a. Uprising, in the case of the Prosecutor of the Special Court vs. Charles Ghankay Taylor. Defense first continued Friday’s line of questioning about errors in statements made in March and October 2007 to members of the Prosecution team. The witness maintained that this is not what he had told the prosecution, and though he did sign the statements, it was the Prosecution’s error.

Weekly Report on RUF Trial – Summary for the Week of June 9 – June 13, 2008

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:59:55 PST

This week was rather short on action for Trial Chamber I as the court adjourned to allow for the Gbao defense team to get its witnesses, overall strategy and related logistics in order. Court initially resumed on Monday, June 9, to continue the Prosecution’s cross-examination of last week’s witness for defense the Third Accused. However, only one other witness testified this week before the defense asked for more time and then decided to not call a possible witness, leaving court out of session from Tuesday afternoon until Monday.

Weekly Report on RUF Trial- Summary for week of June 2-June 6, 2008

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:20:27 PST

The defense for the Third Accused, Augustine Gbao, resumed this week as Trial Chamber I returned from an extended break taken to allow for a plenary meeting of all the Special Court judges. Witness testimony during this week focused on Gbao’s status as the overall Internal Defense Unit (IDU) commander for the RUF, a position the defense characterized as outside the realm of military planning or fighting. The defense also worked to portray Gbao as fearful of the fighting, popular among civilians, and loyal to the ideology of the revolution, which was fought for the benefit of civilians.

Weekly Report on Taylor – Summary for the Week of June 2 – June 6, 2008

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:38:16 PST

Defense counsel Terry Munyard continued his cross-examination of Witness Samuel Kargbo in the case of The Prosecutor of the Special Court vs. Charles Ghankay Taylor this week.The witness was a member of the Sierra Leonean Army (SLA) and later a member of the RUF and AFRC Supreme Council. The Defense primarily focused on inconsistencies between the witness’s testimony and previous statements made to the Prosecution, pointing out that Kargbo’s prior statements were read back to him and that he had failed to correct any inaccuracies. The Defense also pushed Kargbo on whether he ‘nursed a grudge’ against Taylor.

26th Extended Special Edition of the Official Newsletter of the Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Programme

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:04:47 PST

Welcome to the 26th Special Extended Edition of the Official Newsletter of the Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Programme