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

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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