A Paris court has made history in convicting a former Liberian rebel commander for complicity in crimes against humanity under the principle of “universal jurisdiction."
Kunti Kamara was also found guilty acts of barbarity, including torture, cannibalism, and forced labour during the country’s first civil war more than 25 years ago. He was given a life sentence.
The three-week trial was the first in France of a non-Rwandan suspect accused of wartime atrocities since the special crimes against humanity tribunal was set up in Paris in 2012.
After the verdict, which came late on Wednesday after the judges deliberated for 10 hours, Alain Werner, a human rights lawyer and the director of Civitas Maxima, said the trial showed there was a legal recourse for victims of atrocities—even those committed in long forgotten conflicts.
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