Skip to main content

France investigates Liberian suspect for crimes against humanity


France has detained a suspected former militant commander from Liberia's brutal civil war and placed him under formal investigation for crimes against humanity for alleged atrocities including torture and cannibalism, police said Friday.

A legal source said the man, identified as naturalised Dutch citizen Kunti K., is suspected of being a former commander in the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO), which fought during the 1990s.
Arrested on Tuesday in the northeast Paris suburb of Bobigny where he had been hiding out at the home of a friend, he is suspected of torture, murder, slavery, the use of child soldiers and cannibalism between 1993 and 1997.
Liberia, Africa's oldest republic, formed by freed American slaves, was devastated by two civil wars which killed around 250,000 people between 1989 and 2003.
ULIMO was set up to fight a rebel force headed by warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor, who is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence for aiding and abetting rebels who committed atrocities in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
Kunti K., born in 1974, was detained in a joint operation by elite GIGN police and officers from France's OCLCH agency, which investigates war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
"He had arrived in France in 2016, after leaving the Netherlands and passing through Belgium," said Colonel Eric Emeraux, head of the OCLCH.
Paris prosecutors had opened an initial investigation into Kunti K. after victims' rights group Civitas Maxima filed a criminal complaint on July 23.
Contacted by AFP, the Geneva-based group, which offers legal support to victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity, declined to comment on the case.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

President George Weah's One Day National Forum Successfully Attended by 26 Political Parties

On Thursday, August 8, 2018, President George Weah had a sit down with 26 political parties of Liberia.  The meeting aimed at advancing ideals that promote the spirit of national unity and political tolerance between opposition political parties and the government.  ANC, LP and UP attended the meeting as a team. According to Deputy Minister Eugene L. Fahngon, Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs at Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism, all 26 political parties attended and participated from start to finish.  Even though, social media was buzzing about AB Dillion walking out of the meeting, he walked out as an individual and not a political party, "the invitation was extended to political parties and not to individuals," Minister Fahngon stated in his live video.  Each political party gave ideals and recommendations, which made the meeting a great success.  According to  Deputy Minister Fahngon, "there will be future engagements as such.&quo

What President Trump and Kim Jong Un Ate

The historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continued midday Tuesday, as the leaders satisfied their appetites while holding negotiations with a contingent of advisers over a working lunch. The lunch, which followed a 45-minute one-on-one meeting between the leaders earlier in the morning and bilateral discussion with senior aides, was held at the Capella Hotel on Singapore’s Sentosa Island. It was far from an intimate affair, with each leader accompanied by a bevy of senior staff, according to the White House. Joining Trump were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Advisor John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Deputy Assistant to the President for Asian Affairs Matthew Pottinger. Kim was accompanied by Kim Yong Chol , the former spy chief and one of North Korea’s chief negotiators, as well as Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, former

Liberian Superstar Quincy B Dead

2 March 2017 / Berenice Mulubah  Quincy B On March 3, 2017, Liberian superstar, Quincy L. Borrow aka Quincy B, died from a car accident, on his way from KARAOKE NITE, in Monrovia, Liberia.  The artist was pulled out of the damaged vehicle and rush to the JFK hospital. Quincy B did not survived.   Few hours before his death, the artist was spotted live on snap chat, singing Karaoke. Quincy B who was the driver of the car, died immediately.  Artists CIC , Margas Bimba and Feouls Kaba in the vehicle, as well, they are at the hospital, being treated.  CIC broken his legs in the accident. CIC and Quincy B are nominated for the Liberian Entertainment Awards 2017.