A former Liberian rebel leader, Kunti Kamara, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Paris, France, after he was found guilty of war crimes including murder, rape and cannibalism carried out during the West African country’s deadly civil war 30 years ago.
Now 47, Kamara who was in his teens when he was a commander in the Ulimo rebel group, was accused of complicity in massive and systematic torture and inhumane acts against civilians in Liberia’s Lofa County in 1993-1994, according to the prosecutors, who had requested a life sentence while defense lawyers called for acquittal, citing a lack of evidence.
During the investigation, Kamara had acknowledged having been a battlefield commander, leading about 80 soldiers during the civil war which he said was a choice he made to defend himself against Charles Taylor’s rival faction.
While reeling out a plethora of accusations against Kamara, French prosecutor Aurélie Belliot, described him as the “active author of a collective killing” who allowed and facilitated rapes and sexual torture of two young teenagers by some Ulimo soldiers.
“In addition, Kunti Kamara is accused of having killed a sick woman, firing at her head with a rifle, and of having compelled people into forced labor under inhuman conditions.
“He and his group forced civilians to carry very heavy loads, including electric generators and food, for hours without food and water.
“He is also accused of torturing of a man whose arms were tied behind his back before being dragged on the floor until he was very seriously wounded.
“Kunti Kamara is also accused of having participated in the killing of two civilians and an act of cannibalism, having eaten the heart of a victim after it had been removed by another soldier with an ax,” Belliot said.
Kamara was arrested near Paris in 2018, following a complaint filed by Swiss-based group Civitas Maxima, specialized in helping victims of crimes against humanity.
He had fled Liberia after the end of the first civil war in 1997 and later went to the Netherlands where he sought asylum after lying about his past to get asylum there, including by not disclosing he used to be an Ulimo soldier, Belliot told the court.
“He was later granted citizenship and lived in the country for 12 years, before coming to Belgium and then France because prosecutors alleged that he felt his war activities were getting increasingly known by Dutch authorities,” he said.