A former Liberian rebel went on trial Monday in Paris on charges of crimes against humanity, torture, and acts of barbarism during the West African country’s civil war in the 1990s.
Kunti Kamara, 47, was arrested near Paris in 2018, following a complaint filed by Swiss-based group Civitas Maxima, specialized in helping victims of crimes against humanity.
According to court documents, he is being accused of having hit a man and then opened his chest with an ax in order to extract and eat his heart. He is also accused of having allowed and abetted, in his position of authority, rapes and sexual torture, and of having compelled people into forced labor under inhumane conditions.
The trial by the Paris criminal court has been made possible under a French law that recognizes universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity and acts of torture.
It is “a victory for Liberian victims and a warning to perpetrators that no matter where they are, we’re going to make sure they’re held accountable for the crimes they committed in Liberia,” Hassan Bility, head of the Global Justice and Research Project, told The Associated Press.
Read more here.
