Alieu Kosiah, a 51-year-old former commander in the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy, initially settled in Switzerland before his 2014 arrest. The supreme court maintained his 20-year term for violations including rape, looting, recruiting a child soldier, and ordering or participating in the killings of 17 civilians and two unarmed soldiers. However, the court overturned his conviction for crimes against humanity because that legal classification was only added to Swiss law in 2011. While the victims' rights group Civitas Maxima welcomed the final justice for survivors, it expressed profound disappointment regarding the partial acquittal.
Key points
The ruling finalizes the very first war crimes conviction ever delivered by a Swiss civil…: The ruling finalizes the very first war crimes conviction ever delivered by a Swiss civilian court.
The outcome represents the first conviction anywhere in the world of a Liberian for war c…: The outcome represents the first conviction anywhere in the world of a Liberian for war crimes committed during the nation's civil wars.
Non-retroactivity rules shielded the defendant from crimes against humanity charges despi…: Non-retroactivity rules shielded the defendant from crimes against humanity charges despite the court affirming his underlying wartime atrocities.
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Alieu Kosiah killed civilians and unarmed soldiers, and ordered lootings and other crimes against humanity.
Switzerland’s supreme court upheld a 20-year jail sentence for former Liberian rebel commander Alieu Kosiah on Friday, but overturned a conviction for crimes against humanity.
In 2021, Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court found Kosiah, now 51, guilty of multiple atrocities committed during the first of Liberia’s back-to-back civil wars, in which about 250,000 people died between 1989 and 2003.
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In 2023, the court’s appeals chamber upheld his 20-year sentence for war crimes and, for the first time in Swiss history, also made a new ruling that Kosiah was guilty of crimes against humanity.
The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland was asked to review the case, and its verdict, dated September 28, was…
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