MONROVIA—Finnish prosecutors in the ongoing appeal hearings of Gibril Massaquoi, a former commander of Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front have expressed confidence in witnesses testifying on their behalf, despite concerns about inconsistencies in the testimonies of the witnesses.
The issue has dogged the trial, with the District Court in the city of Tampere focusing on that in its April 2022 ruling.
By Eric Opa Doue with New Narratives
“The witnesses’ accounts have been very similar in some respects, and in some respects they have changed in court in the same way compared to the pre-trial phase,” said the court. “This has been the case in particular with regard to the time of the events. This suggests a kind of collective processing of the facts on the basis of which the witnesses formed their perceptions, or at least external influences. In some respects it has been difficult to distinguish between what was based on the witness’s own observations and what was otherwise based on information obtained by the witness. These factors undermine the reliability and relevance of individual reports as evidence.”
Inconsistent witness testimonies are also raising concern during the appeal proceedings before Turku Appeals Court, which has moved to Liberia and may go to Sierra Leone to listen to more witnesses. Six of the seven prosecution witnesses who have testified against Massaquoi in the appeal hearings at the RLJ Hotel in Monrovia claimed that he committed his crimes, including aggravated murder and aggravated rape between 1999 and 2001, with the seventh saying he did them in 2003. The six witnesses had told the district court and Finnish investigators that the alleged crimes were committed in 2003.
As the matter looks to be playing to the liking of the defense, Tom Laitinen, chief prosecutor in the trial has been quick to back his witnesses.
“That’s a question which is up to the court,” said Laitinen. “The court can decide if you can look at the other details brought up in the witnesses’ testimonies and from there, make their assessment which year the witnesses are talking about. This might be an issue, but it is an issue which we just have recognized and is an issue which the court then has to take into consideration when it is giving its judgement.”
Laitinen said dates and times of alleged events are difficult to remember by educated people, so it’s not a surprise that the issue is also posing a challenge for educated people [witnesses].
Laitinen said it is difficult for anybody to precisely recollect occurrences when such events allegedly happened a long time ago under “traumatic circumstances.”
Laitinen also claimed Liberian and Finnish translators may not properly understand the witnesses.
“All the misinterpretations were not the faults of the witnesses,” said Laitinen. “Many of the problems found by the district court in the witnesses’ testimonies they were actually not the faults of the witness but our faults. I think that we understand the witnesses better now, so I think the witnesses are doing a good job.”
The testimony of the first of the three witnesses on Friday was behind closed doors. She was an alleged victim of rape. Such witnesses are protected by the court and their testimonies are not covered by the media. The second witness of the day said she had gone to buy biscuits for her aunt at the only store located at the Waterside bridge [now King Zulu Dumba Bridge] when soldiers arrived and began shooting at civilians.
“While running, I ran to the bridge way,” said the witness. “They arrested us and took us to their checkpoint and tied us and put us in the sun.”
She said some of the women who were captured were taken to Massaquoi, who wore “a white t-shirt and an “army uniform trouser.” She said Massaquoi, whom she identified as Angel Gabriel [one of Massaquoi’s alleged war names] emerged and made death threats to them.
“I will kill your and send your to God,” said the witness of Massaquoi’s alleged comments. “Your tell him that I Angel Gabriel sent your.”
This prompted Kaarle Gummerus, a defense lawyer to remind the witness that she had told Finnish police investigators and the district court that she heard that Massaquoi had been arrested, but she said she had gone home and recollected her memory. She also said she had recollected her memory that Massaquoi had worn a t-shirt and a military outfit during the alleged incident.
Although he had initially expressed fear of testifying over his security, the third and final witness of the day, like the other witnesses before him, talked about alleged killings at a biscuit store at Waterside.
He said he was selling in the area and saw people running in and out of the store, which was the only store open at the time.
The witness said he decided to go to where the civilians were coming from with the biscuits when the soldiers started shooting at them.
He said he could not remember the names and exact numbers of people killed that day because the situation was traumatic at the time. He did however claim that more than ten people were killed that day on Massaquoi’s orders. He said Massaquoi had introduced himself as “Angel Gabriel.”
“The man self will stand in front of you and say, “I am Angel Gabriel.”
The witness also said one of his big brothers was also killed that day. Asked by Gummerus whether the man was his biological brother, the witness said: “in Liberia we refer to people (men) who are older than us as ‘big brothers.”
The witness who appeared to be in his late 30s told the Finnish Police that the Massaquoi wore Liberian Army uniform that day, but in court on Friday, he said Massaquoi was wearing a white t-shirt and an army trouser. He again clarified to the court that he meant that Massaquoi had worn an army Trouser.
The hearings continue on Monday.
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of its West African Justice Reporting Project.
