On Wednesday (Mar. 27), a French court handed former Liberian rebel commander Kunti Kamara a 30-year prison sentence for violence against civilians and complicity in crimes against humanity.
Liberia: French court hands former rebel leader 30-year prison sentence
People wait in front of the entrance of the courtroom where a former Liberian rebel is on trial in Paris courthouse, Oct. 10, 2022
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The crimes were found to have happened between 1993 and 1994 during the First Liberian Civil War in Lofa county, in north-western Liberia.
During the proceedings, the Court heard 22 witnesses, 9 civil parties, and 5 experts, according to Civitas Maxima . The group coordinates a network of national and international lawyers and investigators who work for the interest of victims of international crimes.
Kamara had been sentenced to life in prison during a first trial in Paris in 2022.
His lawyers welcomed the shorter sentence but still argued their client was innocent.
The 49-year-old was arrested in France in 2018.
He was a regional commander of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO), a rebel group that fought the National Patriotic Front of former President Charles Taylor.
Some 250,000 people are estimated to have beeen killed in the West African nation during back-to-back conflicts from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.
In early March, Liberia's parliament backed the creation of a war crimes court.
A truth and reconciliation committee had recommended the establisshment of a special tribunal to try those accused of committing crimes but no action was taken.
Senators still have to vote on the bill in a country where some former warlods have held elective positions.