SPECIAL COURT DELIVERS GUILTY VERDICT IN CDF TRIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 FREETOWN 000464 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W, DRL, GTIP, INR (BGRAVES) E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/02/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PHUM PINR KAWC SL SUBJECT: SPECIAL COURT DELIVERS GUILTY VERDICT IN CDF TRIAL Classified By: Ambassador Thomas N. Hull for reasons 1.4 (b and d). ¶1. (U) On August 2, Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa of the Civil Defence Force (CDF) were found guilty of war crimes committed during Sierra Leone's decade long civil war by a majority of the three judges of Trial Chamber I in the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). Fofana was convicted on four of eight counts, including unlawful killings, physical violence and mental suffering, pillage, and collective punishments. Kondewa was convicted on five of eight counts, including unlawful killings, physical violence and mental suffering, pillage, collective punishments, and enlisting child soldiers. ¶2. (U) Dissenting from the majority decision, Justice Bankole Thompson, a Sierra Leonean, acquitted both defendants on all eight counts. The Court did not provide an explanation for Justice Thompson's decision. This case has stirred considerable emotions among Sierra Leoneans who view the CDF as liberators and heroes who defended the country against brutal rebel groups that terrorized the population committing unspeakable atrocities. The verdict in the 17-month long trial is the second the Court has handed down since its inception. Sentencing will most likely be in late September or early October. ¶3. (U) During the trial, which began in 2004, the Prosecution called 75 witnesses, while the Defence called only 44 witnesses. The case hearings were concluded on November 30, ¶2006. ¶4. (U) The CDF was the pro-government militia mobilized by former Deputy Defence Minister Chief Sam Hinga Norman in 1996 following the defection of the Sierra Leone Army to the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC),which had staged a coup in May 1997 forcing President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and his government into exile in Guinea. The CDF, also known as the Kamajors, a secret hunting society, fought the combined rebel forces of the AFRC and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). ¶5. (U) Before reading the verdict, presiding judge Justice Benjamin Mutanga Itoe of Cameroon requested each of the accused to stand. The defendants appeared expressionless as Justice Itoe read the judgments, which detailed some of the crimes committed by the pro-government militia, including skinning a man alive. The defendants had pleaded not guilty to all eight counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. ¶6. (U) During the reading of the verdict, Justice Itoe acknowledged that the trial of the CDF leaders had generated a large public outcry following the indictment of the late former Deputy Minister of Defence Sam Hinga Norman in 2003. Hinga Norman is revered in Sierra Leone for standing and fighting the rebels after the government went into exile. His death in February 2007 while a prisoner of the SCSL and in Senegal for medical treatment generated a large outpouring of public support for his family. ¶7. (C) There was concern that the announcement of the verdict so close to the August 11 national elections could possibly generate backlash from Kamajors still loyal to the CDF and Chief Hinga Norman. Additionally, some camps within the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) feared a guilty verdict could hurt the SLPP at the polls on election day, given that SLPP presidential aspirant Vice President Solomon Berewa was Attorney General when Chief Hinga Norman was indicted in 2003, although the indictment was issued by the SCSL alone. Many blame President Kabbah and the SLPP for turning their backs on Hinga Norman. A few days before the verdict, President Kabbah told the Ambassador that he expected it to be a sobering event for those contemplating violence during the current electoral campaign. Vice President Berewa told the Ambassador separately that the verdict would be a "non event." 8 (U) Those in attendance at the reading of the verdict included Sierra Leone human rights organization officials, journalists, police, UNIOSIL officials, and family members of the defendants. Reactions in the courtroom were sullen and emotionless. Many citizens on the streets in Freetown reflected their disappointment over the guilty verdict in this emotional case. ¶9. (C) Comment: In Sierra Leone, the CDF has a mixed legacy that stirs strong emotions from all segments of the population. During a recent meeting with Emboff, former personal assistant to Chief Hinga Norman, Mohammed Massaquoi, expressed his disappointment with the indictment of the three CDF leaders, and said he expected both Fofana and Kondewa to FREETOWN 00000464 002 OF 002 be acquitted. It is likely that this fairly widely held sentiment, coupled with a possible fear of retribution, influenced Sierra Leonean Justice Thompson's dissenting decision to acquit the defendants on all counts. It also is probably that if Chief Norman were still alive, he would have received the same guilty verdict as his subordinates Fofana and Kondewa, which could have led to further public protest. With most of the country being preoccupied with the upcoming national elections on August 11, it remains to be seen if the reaction will be the "non-even" for which Berewa is hoping. END COMMENT. HULL