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PROSECUTOR v MOININA FOFANA - JUDGEMENT ON THE SENTENCING OF MOININA FOFANA AND ALLIEU KONDEWA - Case No.SCSL-04-14-T [2007] SCSL 10 (9 October 2007)
O
SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE
JOMO KENYATTA
ROAD • FREETOWN • SIERRA LEONE
PHONE: +1 212 963 9915
Extension: 178 7000 or +39 0831 257000 or +232 22 295995
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295996
TRIAL CHAMBER I
|
Before:
|
Hon. Justice Benjamin Mutanga Itoe, Presiding Judge Hon. Justice Bankole
Thompson Hon. Justice Pierre Boutet
|
|
Registrar:
|
Herman von Hebel
|
|
Date:
|
9th of October 2007
|
|
PROSECUTOR
|
Against
|
MOININA FOFANA ALLIEU KONDEWA (Case
No.SCSL-04-14-T)
|
Public Document
JUDGEMENT ON THE SENTENCING
OF MOININA FOFANA
AND ALLIEU KONDEWA
|
Office of the Prosecutor: Stephen Rapp Christopher
Staker James C Johnson Joseph Kamara Kevin Tavener Mohamed A
Bangura Adwoa Wiafe
|
|
Court Appointed Counsel for Moinina
Fofana: Victor Koppe Arrow Bockarie Michiel
Pestman Steven Powles
|
|
|
Court Appointed Counsel for Allieu
Kondewa: Charles Margai Yada Williams Ansu Lansana Susan
Wright
|
I. INTRODUCTION
- The
two Accused Persons, Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa, were arrested and taken
into custody on the 29th of May 2003 for allegedly
committing serious offences, including crimes against humanity and war crimes as
stipulated in the Statute
of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
(“Statute”).
- They
were on trial before this Chamber on an eight-count Indictment which charged
them with murder as a crime against humanity, violence
to life, health and
physical or mental well-being of persons, in particular murder, inhumane acts as
a crime against humanity, violence
to life, health and physical or mental
well-being, in particular cruel treatment, pillage, acts of terrorism,
collective punishments
and enlisting children under the age of 15 years into
armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in
hostilities.
- The
Chamber, on the 2nd of August 2007, issued a Judgement
which was subscribed to by The Presiding Judge, Honourable Justice Benjamin
Mutanga Itoe, and
the Honourable Justice Pierre
Boutet.[1] The
Honourable Justice Bankole Thompson signed the Judgement with the indication
that he was issuing a Separate Concurring and Partially
Dissenting Opinion.
- In
the Judgement, the Chamber found Moinina Fofana guilty on Counts 2, 4, 5 and 7
and found Allieu Kondewa guilty on Counts 2, 4,
5, 7 and 8 of the Indictment. In
the same breath, we found Moinina Fofana not guilty on Counts 1, 3, 6 and 8 and
Allieu Kondewa not
guilty on Counts 1, 3 and 6. We accordingly acquitted them on
those Counts.
- In
this regard, we understand that our colleague, Honourable Justice Bankole
Thompson, dissents from the Majority only in respect
of those Counts where we,
unlike him, found the two Accused Persons guilty and convicted them accordingly,
and that he was, on the
other hand, concurring with the Majority Judgement on
those Counts on which we found both Accused Persons not guilty.
- Honourable
Justice Bankole Thompson’s Dissenting Opinion, which features as Annex C
of the Judgement, found the two Accused
Persons not guilty on all the 8 Counts
of the Indictment and acquitted them accordingly on all the Counts. This
Dissenting Opinion,
like the Majority Opinion, was filed and published on the
2nd of August 2007.
- After
the issuance of the Dissenting Opinion on the 2nd of
August 2007, it became apparent that the acquittal by the Honourable Justice
Bankole Thompson in his Dissenting Opinion was based,
inter alia, on the Defence
of ‘Necessity’ and on what he characterized as ‘Salus Civis
Suprema Lex Est’,
in which he enunciated his conception of the nature and
consequences of the said
Defences.[2]
- The
Sentencing Judgement which the Chamber issues today is based on those Counts for
which we have found the two Accused Persons guilty.
- Following
an Order from the
Chamber,[3] the
Prosecution and both Defence Teams filed their Sentencing Briefs within the
prescribed time
limits.[4] As
scheduled, a Sentencing Hearing was held on the 19th of
September 2007 where oral submissions were made by the Prosecution and Counsel
for both Accused Persons.
- At
the Sentencing Hearing, The Presiding Judge announced that the Honourable
Justice Bankole Thompson was absent for medical reasons.
The Chamber
consequently ordered that, pursuant to Rule 16(A) of the Rules of Procedure and
Evidence (“Rules”), the proceedings
would continue in his
absence.[5] Indeed, we
proceeded as we had ordered in the absence of our
colleague.
II. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
- The
Chamber, in this process, was seized of the Defence Request for Leave to
Supplement the Fofana Sentencing
Brief,[6] filed on the
14th of September 2007, in which the Fofana Defence
requested leave to substitute a signed version of a statement given by Simon
Arthy
for the unsigned version of this statement that it had appended as Annex A
of its Sentencing Brief. The Chamber grants this request.
- During
the Sentencing Hearing on the 19th of September 2007,
the Chamber noted that it was seized of the Prosecutor’s Response to
Defence Request for Leave to Supplement
the Fofana Sentencing
Brief.[7] The Chamber
gave the Parties the opportunity to make oral submissions on this issue, in
which the Defence sought to have admitted
six statements and to call one
witness, Frances Fortune, to attest to the good character of Moinina
Fofana.[8] The
Prosecution objected to the admission of these statements on the basis that they
introduced new evidence, much of which went
to proof of the acts and conduct of
the Accused, and that it would be prejudiced as it would have no opportunity to
cross-examine
the
witnesses.[9] It also
objected to the calling of Frances Fortune as a witness on the basis that her
affidavit was taken from a bail application
in 2004 and raised an issue of
bias.[10] The Fofana
Defence submitted that the statements related to the conduct of Fofana in
promoting peace and reconciliation which occurred
during the post mid-1998 era,
and therefore after the commission of the crimes for which he has been
convicted.[11]
- The
Chamber made an oral ruling that the documents annexed to both the Prosecution
and Defence Briefs were to be admitted insofar
as they assisted the Chamber to
establish the character of the Accused. However, the Chamber further ruled that
any statements included
in those documents that go to the acts and conduct of
the Accused, as they relate to the subject of the Judgement, were inadmissible
and would be disregarded by the Chamber in the process of evaluating the said
documents. The Chamber also ruled that it did not deem
it necessary for
witnesses to be called at this stage, and accordingly, denied the Fofana Defence
application to call Frances
Fortune.[12]
III. SUBMISSIONS OF THE PARTIES
1. Prosecution Submissions
- The
Prosecution submitted that the appropriate sentence for both Fofana and Kondewa
is 30 years including time already served in
detention.[13] The
Prosecution drew attention to the severe sentences that would have been imposed
on the Accused at the International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda
(“ICTR”) and under Sierra Leonean law for similar
offences.[14] It
emphasized the gravity of the offences committed, focusing on their serious
nature, the number and vulnerability of the victims,
the impact of the crimes on
victims and others, and the role and participation of the Accused in the crimes
as leaders.[15]
- The
Prosecution submitted that there were no mitigating factors applicable to the
Accused in this case, submitting that the personal
circumstances of the Accused,
such as lack of education and the chaotic situation in which they were
operating, cannot be considered
as
mitigating.[16] The
Prosecution further contended that the fact that the Accused were fighting for
the restoration of democracy cannot be considered
as
mitigating.[17]
- As
aggravating factors, the Prosecution submitted that the Accused were willing and
enthusiastic participants in the crimes and that
the crimes were
premeditated.[18] The
Prosecution also emphasized the vulnerability of the victims, and in particular,
drew attention to Kondewa’s liability
for the enlistment of child
soldiers.[19] The
Prosecution submitted that the leadership role of both Accused was an
aggravating
factor,[20] and
submitted further that Fofana breached a position of trust in committing his
crimes.[21]
2. Fofana Defence Submissions
- The
Fofana Defence submitted that a sentence of 4 years or less, amounting to time
served, would be
appropriate.[22] The
Fofana Defence emphasized that Fofana was convicted solely on the basis of
indirect modes of liability such as aiding and abetting
and superior
responsibility, and that consequently the gravity of the offences was
considerably diminished. It therefore submitted
that a sentence significantly
lower than those imposed upon direct perpetrators was warranted in the
circumstances.[23]
- The
Fofana Defence submitted that the Prosecution has failed to prove any
aggravating circumstances with respect to Fofana beyond
a reasonable
doubt.[24] In
particular, the Defence submitted that Fofana did not abuse his authority, nor
did he actively participate in the crimes of his
subordinates, and that his
leadership role therefore, cannot be taken into account as an aggravating
circumstance.[25] The
Defence repeatedly emphasized that the Chamber never made a finding that Fofana
was present at the scene of the crimes for which
he was
convicted.[26]
- In
mitigation, the Fofana Defence emphasized Fofana’s good character, his
exemplary behaviour in detention, and his conduct
subsequent to the conflict in
working towards the promotion of peace and reconciliation in Sierra Leone, which
demonstrated his “capacity
for rehabilitation and potential for further
contribution to the Sierra Leonean
society”.[27]
- The
Fofana Defence also drew attention to the prevailing circumstances and overall
context of the conflict in which the crimes were
committed,[28] and
Fofana’s lack of formal or military
training.[29] In
particular, the Fofana Defence submitted that the fact that Fofana had been
fighting to restore democracy should be taken into
account as a mitigating
circumstance, pointing out that he had been decorated with a medal by President
Kabbah for his contributions
to this
achievement.[30]
3. Kondewa Defence Submissions
- In
its Sentencing Brief, the Kondewa Defence submitted that separate concurrent
sentences, rather than a global sentence, should be
imposed, but that
Kondewa’s sentence be limited to the time he had already spent in
custody.[31] In its
oral submissions, however, the Kondewa Defence submitted that a sentence of 3
years in addition to the 4 years Kondewa had
already spent in detention, would
be
appropriate.[32]
- The
Kondewa Defence submitted that the Prosecution had not proved any aggravating
factors beyond a reasonable
doubt.[33] As
mitigating factors, the Kondewa Defence identified that Kondewa had shown
remorse,[34] and
emphasized the fact that he had provided assistance to vulnerable persons during
the conflict.[35] It
also emphasized his family and personal circumstances with 17 wives and 18
children, his age, his illiteracy, his lack of prior
convictions, and his lack
of formal education and military
training.[36]
- Moreover,
it emphasized that Kondewa had been fighting to restore democracy, and had been
fighting solely out of a sense of patriotism
and without the hope of any
reward.[37] During the
Sentencing Hearing, Kondewa himself also chose to make a personal plea in
mitigation after his Counsel, Mr. Margai, had
done so on his behalf. He
presented regrets and asked for pardon for the deaths and suffering. He also
reiterated that his motivation
for participating in the conflict was to
reinstate democracy and restore President Kabbah to
power.[38]
- The
Trial Chamber has considered the written and oral submissions of the Prosecution
and of Counsel for both Accused Persons in the
determination of appropriate
sentences to be handed down to Fofana and Kondewa.
IV. APPLICABLE LAW
1. Applicable Provisions
- Article
19 of the Statute and Rules 100 and 101 of the Rules contain provisions relevant
to guiding the Chamber in determining an
appropriate sentence. They provide as
follows:
Article 19– Penalties
1. The Trial Chamber shall impose upon a convicted person, other than a
juvenile offender, imprisonment for a specified number of
years. In determining
the terms of imprisonment, the Trial Chamber shall, as appropriate, have
recourse to the practice regarding
prison sentences in the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the national courts of Sierra Leone.
2. In imposing the sentences, the Trial Chamber should take into account
such factors as the gravity of the offence and the individual
circumstances of
the convicted person.
Rule 100 - Sentencing Procedure
(A) If the Trial Chamber convicts the accused or the accused
enters a guilty plea, the Prosecutor shall submit any relevant
information that
may assist the Trial Chamber in determining an appropriate sentence no more than
7 days after such conviction or
guilty plea. The defendant shall thereafter, but
no more that 7 days after the Prosecutor’s filing submit any relevant
information
that may assist the Trial Chamber in determining an appropriate
sentence.
(B) Where the accused has entered a guilty plea, the Trial Chamber shall
hear submissions of the parties at a sentencing hearing.
Where the accused has
been convicted by a Trial Chamber, the Trial Chamber may hear submissions of the
parties at a sentencing hearing.
(C) The sentence shall be pronounced in a judgement in public
and in the presence of the convicted person, subject to
Rule 102(B).
Rule 101 - Penalties
(A) A person convicted by the Special Court, other than a
juvenile offender, may be sentenced to imprisonment for a
specific number of
years.
(B) In determining the sentence, the Trial Chamber shall take into account
the factors mentioned in Article 19 (2) of the Statute,
as well as such factors
as:
(i) Any aggravating circumstances;
(ii) Any mitigating circumstances including the substantial
cooperation with the Prosecutor by the convicted person
before or after
conviction;
(iii) The extent to which any penalty imposed by a court of
any State on the convicted person for the same act has
already been served, as
referred to in Article 9 (3) of the Statute.
(C) The Trial Chamber shall indicate whether multiple sentences
shall be served consecutively or concurrently.
(D) Any period during which the convicted person was detained in
custody pending his transfer to the Special Court or
pending trial or appeal,
shall be taken into consideration on sentencing.
2. Sentencing Objectives
- According
to the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunals on this subject,
the primary objectives of sentencing are retribution,
deterrence and
rehabilitation.[39] In
the context of international criminal justice, retribution should:
not be understood as fulfilling a desire for revenge, but as duly
expressing the outrage of the international community at these crimes.[...]
Accordingly, a sentence of the International Tribunal should make plain the
condemnation of the international community of the behaviour
in question and
show that the international community was not ready to tolerate serious
violations of international humanitarian
law and human
rights.[40]
- The
Chamber here refers and adopts the definition of retribution provided by Lamer
J. of the Supreme Court of Canada, who held that:
Retribution, in a
criminal context, by contrast [to vengeance] represents an objective, reasoned
and measured determination of an
appropriate punishment which properly reflects
the moral culpability of the offender, having regard to the international
risk-taking
of the offender, the consequential harm caused by the offender, and
the normative character of the offender’s conduct. Furthermore,
unlike
vengeance, retribution incorporates a principle of restraint; retribution
requires the imposition of a just and appropriate
punishment, and nothing
more.[41]
- Although
rehabilitation is considered as an important element in sentencing, it is of
greater importance in domestic jurisdictions
than in International Criminal
Tribunals.[42]
- The
Chamber notes the content of Security Council Resolution No. 1315 (2000), which
provides as follows:
[...]in the particular circumstances of Sierra
Leone, a credible system of justice and accountability for the very serious
crimes
committed there would end impunity and would contribute to the process of
national reconciliation and to the restoration and maintenance
of
peace.[43]
The Chamber takes these objectives into consideration in determining the
sentences to be meted out to the Accused.
- The
Chamber also endorses the principle that:
One of the main purposes
of a sentence imposed by an international Tribunal is to influence the legal
awareness of the accused, the
surviving victims, their relatives, the witnesses
and the general public in order to reassure them that the legal system is
implemented
and enforced. Additionally, the process of sentencing is intended
to convey the message that globally accepted laws and rules have
to be accepted
by everyone.[44]
- In
fact, the sentence imposed must be individualized and proportionate to the
conduct of the Accused.[45]
3. Sentencing Factors
- The
Chamber notes that Article 19 and Rule 101(B) stipulate that certain factors
have to be considered in determining an appropriate
sentence. These include the
gravity of the offence, the individual circumstances of the Accused, any
aggravating and mitigating factors,
and where appropriate, the general
sentencing practices of the ICTR and of the national courts of Sierra
Leone.
3.1. Gravity of the Offence
- The
Chamber is of the view that the “gravity of the offence” is an
important principle in determining the sentence to
be imposed by the Court. The
determination of the gravity of the offence, which has been regarded as the
“litmus test for
the appropriate
sentence”,[46]
requires a “consideration of the particular circumstances of the case, as
well as the form and degree of participation of the
Accused in the
crime”.[47] In
considering the gravity of the offence, the Chamber has taken into account such
factors as the scale and brutality of the offences
committed,[48] the
role played by the Accused in their
commission,[49] the
degree of suffering or impact of the crime on the immediate victim, as well as
its effect on relatives of the
victim,[50] and the
vulnerability and number of
victims.[51]
- In
assessing the role of the Accused in the crime, the Chamber has taken into
account the mode of liability under which the Accused
was convicted, as well the
nature and degree of his participation in the offence. In particular, the
Chamber has considered whether
the Accused was held liable as an indirect or a
secondary
perpetrator.[52] In
assessing the gravity of offences for which the Accused was convicted as a
superior, the Chamber has considered the gravity of
the underlying offence and
the gravity of the conduct of the Accused in failing to prevent or punish the
crimes committed by the
subordinate.[53]
- The
Chamber is of the opinion however, that the factors it has taken into account in
assessing the gravity of the offence, cannot,
in addition, be taken into account
as aggravating
circumstances.[54]
Similarly, the Chamber takes the view that factors which it considers and
accepts to lessen the gravity of the offence, cannot be
taken into account as
mitigating circumstances.
3.2. Aggravating Factors
- Aggravating
factors must be shown to have been established by the Prosecution beyond a
reasonable doubt.[55]
Only circumstances directly related to the commission of the offence charged,
and for which the Accused has been convicted, can be
considered to be
aggravating.[56] If a
particular circumstance is an element of the underlying offence, it cannot be
taken into account as an aggravating
factor.[57]
- We
observe that since the Statute and the Rules do not exhaustively list the
circumstances that the Chamber may consider to be aggravating,
the courts have,
through their Decisions and Judgements, developed jurisprudence on the factors
that may be considered as aggravating.
These include the leadership role of the
Accused,[58]
premeditation and motive,[59]
a willing and enthusiastic participation in the
crime,[60] and the
length of time during which the crime was
committed.[61]
- The
Chamber is of the view that the position of leadership of an Accused held
criminally responsible for a crime under Article 6(1)
of the Statute, can be
considered to be an aggravating
circumstance.[62]
However, if an Accused has been found liable under Article 6(3), his leadership
position cannot be considered by the Chamber as an
aggravating factor as it is
in itself a constitutive element of the
offence.[63] Where the
Accused has actively abused his position of command or participated in the
crimes of his subordinates however, such conduct
can be considered to be
aggravating.[64]
- Breach
of trust or authority, where the Accused was in a position that carries with it
a duty to protect or defend the victims, such
as in the case of a government
official, police chief or commander, can be an aggravating factor, and even
where the Accused held
no official position of authority, it is an aggravating
factor, if he held a position of prominence or trust in the
community.[65]
3.3. Mitigating Factors
- Mitigating
factors must be established by the Defence on a balance of
probabilities.[66]
Under Rule 101(B), the only mitigating circumstance that the Chamber is
required to consider is the substantial cooperation of the
Accused with the
Prosecutor. The Chamber, however, has the discretion to consider other factors
or circumstances in mitigation, such
as the expression of
remorse,[67] good
character with no prior
convictions,[68]
personal and family
circumstances,[69]
behaviour and conduct subsequent to the conflict, particularly with respect to
promoting peace and
reconciliation,[70]
good behaviour in
detention,[71] and
assistance to detainees or
victims.[72] The
Chamber has also considered the prevailing circumstances operating at the time
of the commission of the crimes, and the motive
of the Accused in determining
whether there should be a mitigation of the sentence.
4. Sentencing Practice of Other International Tribunals
- Article
19(1) directs the Chamber to consider, where appropriate, the sentencing
practices adopted at the ICTR. In their written and
oral submissions, the
Parties also drew the Chamber’s attention to jurisprudence from the
International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia
(“ICTY”).[73]
The Chamber is of the view that the sentencing practice of both international
tribunals is instructive, and has considered these
practices where appropriate.
However, it is also aware of the limitations of the use that can be made of the
sentencing practices
of these tribunals. In particular, it notes that the
practice of imposing global sentences at both tribunals makes it difficult
to
ascertain the sentence imposed for each individual crime. Moreover, the Chamber
notes that many of the sentences at the ICTR were
imposed in relation to the
crime of genocide, which is not an offence within the jurisdiction of the
Special Court.
5. Sentencing Practice of Sierra Leonean Courts
- Article
19(1) authorizes the Trial Chamber to consider, where appropriate, the
sentencing practices of Sierra Leonean domestic courts.
The Prosecution contends
that in determining the gravity of the offence, the Chamber should consider
that the offences for which
the Accused have been found guilty, would attract
the death penalty or life imprisonment under Sierra Leonean
law.[74] Both Fofana
and Kondewa submit that given that the Accused were not convicted of any
offences under Article 5 of the Statute which
incorporates offences under Sierra
Leonean legislation, the court should not consider Sierra Leonean sentencing
practice.[75]
- In
this regard, the Chamber notes that the Accused were neither indicted nor
convicted for any of the offences enumerated under Article
5 of the Statute.
Furthermore, the Statute of the Special Court does not provide for either
capital punishment or imposition of a
“life sentence”, which are the
punishments that the most serious crimes under Sierra Leonean law attract. For
these reasons,
the Chamber finds that it would be inappropriate to rely on the
sentencing practices of Sierra Leonean Courts in determining the
punishment to
be imposed on either Fofana or on Kondewa.
V. DELIBERATIONS
- The
Chamber has considered both the Parties’ written briefs and their oral
submissions, made in court during the Sentencing
Hearing, as they relate to the
gravity of the offence, as well as any aggravating or mitigating circumstances.
Only those factors
that the Chamber has found to be relevant in the
determination of sentence, however, have here been explicitly discussed by the
Chamber.
1. Gravity of the Offence
1.1. Fofana
- Fofana
was convicted on the basis of Article 6(1) and Article 6(3). Specifically, the
Chamber found him guilty of the following:
- Aiding
and abetting pursuant to Article 6(1) of the Statute for Counts 2, 4
and 7 for the Tongo Crime Base;
- Failure
to prevent pursuant to Article 6(3) of the Statute for Counts 2, 4
and 7 for the Koribondo Crime Base; and
- Failure
to prevent pursuant to Article 6(3) of the Statute for Counts 2, 4, 5
and 7 for the Bo District Crime
Base.[76]
- With
respect to the crimes for which Fofana was found liable under Article 6(3), the
Chamber has examined the gravity of the crimes
committed by subordinates under
his effective control. Many of these crimes, as described in the Judgement, were
of a very serious
nature, and were committed against innocent civilians. The
Chamber considers actions such as the mutilation and the targeted killing
of
Limba civilians[77]
and the killing and mutilation of Chief Kafala (whom the CDF/Kamajors
considered a collaborator) in
Koribondo,[78] to be
indicative of the brutality of the offences committed by Fofana’s
subordinates. The Chamber also notes the gruesome
murder of two women in
Koribondo who had sticks inserted and forced into their genitals until they came
out of their mouths. The
women were then disembowelled, and while their guts
were used as checkpoints, parts of their entrails were
eaten.[79]
- The
Chamber also finds that many of the offences for which Fofana was convicted
under Article 6(1) were committed on a large scale
and with a significant degree
of brutality. In particular, the Chamber notes the murder of 150 Loko, Limba and
Temne tribe members
in
Talama,[80] the
killings of 20 men on the 15th of January 1998 at the
NDMC Headquarters in Tongo, who were hacked to death with
machetes,[81] and the
killing of 64 civilians in Kamboma, who were placed in two separate lines and
killed, after which their corpses were rolled
into a
swamp,[82] as
indicative of the scale and brutality of the crimes that Fofana was found to
have aided and abetted in the Tongo Field area. Furthermore,
the Chamber finds
that the crimes were particularly serious insofar as they were committed against
unarmed and innocent civilians,
solely on the basis that they were unjustifiably
perceived and branded as “rebel collaborators”.
- The
Chamber notes that many of the victims of these crimes were young children and
women, and therefore belong to a particularly vulnerable
sector of society. For
instance, we note our findings of the hacking to death by the CDF/Kamajors of a
boy named Sule at a checkpoint
in the Tongo
area,[83] the murder
of a 12 year old boy in
Talama[84], the murder
of an unidentified woman who was alleged to have cooked for the rebels in Bo,
and the atrocious murder of the two women
in Koribundo as described
earlier.[85]
- The
Chamber considers these crimes to have had a significant physical and
psychological impact on the victims of such crimes, on the
relatives of the
victims, and on those in the broader community. The testimony of witnesses heard
by the Chamber during the trial,
and appended to the Prosecution Brief in Annex
D, indicates the impact which events such as amputations and the loss of family
members
have had on the lives of victims and
witnesses.[86] As
appropriately described and summarized by our sister Trial Chamber II,
“victims who had their limbs hacked off not only
endured extreme pain and
suffering, if they survived, but lost their mobility and capacity to earn a
living or even to undertake
simple daily tasks. They have been rendered
dependent on others for the rest of their
lives”.[87] In
particular, the Chamber notes the lasting effect of these crimes on victims such
as TF2-015, who was the only survivor of an attack
on 65 civilians who were
hacked to death by machetes or shot, and who was himself hacked with a machete
and rolled into a swamp
on top of the dead bodies in the belief that he was
dead.[88]
- With
respect to the form and degree of Fofana’s participation, the Chamber
notes that he was found liable for the crimes in
Tongo Field as an aider and
abettor under Article 6(1) of the Statute. The jurisprudence of the ICTY and
ICTR indicates that aiding
and abetting as a mode of liability generally
warrants a lesser sentence than that to be imposed for more direct forms of
participation.[89] The
Chamber also notes that while Fofana was found liable for aiding and abetting,
he was not present at the scenes of the crimes
and that the degree of his
participation amounted only to
encouragement.[90]
- With
respect to the crimes for which Fofana was convicted under Article 6(3), the
Chamber has considered the gravity of Fofana’s
conduct in failing to
prevent the crimes. It finds that the gravity of the offence committed by Fofana
given his leadership role
as a superior who failed to prevent his subordinates
from committing crimes, is greater than that of the actual perpetrators of the
crimes.[91] In this
case, the fact that Fofana’s failure to prevent was ongoing, rather than
an isolated occurrence, had the implicit effect
of encouraging his subordinates
to believe that they could commit further crimes with impunity. This factor
therefore, in our opinion,
increases the seriousness of the crimes for which he
has been
convicted.[92]
1.2. Kondewa
- Kondewa
was convicted under Article 6(1) and under Article 6(3). Specifically, the
Chamber found him guilty of the following:
- Aiding
and abetting pursuant to Article 6(1) of the Statute for Counts 2, 4
and 7 for the Tongo Crime Base;
- Failure
to prevent pursuant to Article 6(3) of the Statute for Counts 2, 4, 5
and 7 for the Bonthe and Moyamba Crime Bases;
- Commission
(murder) pursuant to Article 6(1) of the Statute for Count 2 for the Talia/Base
Zero Crime Base;
- Commission
(enlisting child soldiers) pursuant to Article 6(1) of the Statute for Count
8.
- With
respect to the crimes for which Kondewa was found liable under Article 6(3), the
Chamber has examined the gravity of the crimes
committed by the subordinates
under his effective control. Many of these crimes, as described in the
Judgement, were of a serious
nature. The Chamber notes, in particular, that the
CDF/Kamajors in Bonthe stripped Lahia Ndokoi Koroma naked and tied
him,[93] a
particularly humiliating and degrading act. With respect to Kondewa’s
liability under Article 6(1), he was convicted for
the same crimes as Fofana in
the Tongo area; the scale and the barbaric nature of such crimes has been
described above.[94]
- As
is the case with Fofana, the Chamber notes that many of the victims of these
crimes were young children and women, and were therefore
particularly
vulnerable. It notes, in particular, the two incidents involving children in the
Tongo area described above with respect
to
Fofana,[95] and the
killing of a boy called Bendeh Battiama by Rambo Conteh in
Bonthe.[96]
- With
respect to the offence of the enlistment of child soldiers for which Kondewa was
convicted, the Chamber notes the particular
vulnerability of TF2-021, who was
eleven years old when he was captured by the CDF/Kamajors and forcibly trained
to kill and to commit
crimes against innocent
civilians.[97] At the
age of eleven, Witness TF2-021 was initiated into the Kamajor society and, at
the age of thirteen, he was initiated by Kondewa
into the “Avondo
Society”, a notorious group of
Kamajors.[98] The
Chamber notes the commentary of the ICRC that “child soldiers are deprived
of a family, deprived of an education and all
the advantages that would
otherwise help them be children and prepare them for adulthood [...] In the end,
child soldiers will suffer
deep trauma, which persists long after the fighting
has stopped”.[99]
- Further,
as noted by the Chamber with respect to Fofana, it considers these crimes to
have had a significant physical and psychological
impact on the victims of such
crimes, on the relatives of the victims, and on those in the broader
community.[100]
- With
respect to the form and degree of Kondewa’s participation in the crimes
committed, the Chamber finds that while he was
held liable on the basis of
aiding and abetting under Article 6(1) and as a superior under Article 6(3), he
was also held liable
for the direct perpetration of some acts, including the
shooting of a town commander in Talia/Base Zero, and for committing the offence
of the enlistment of child soldiers.
- Furthermore,
with respect to his liability under Article 6(3), the Chamber finds, as it did
with Fofana, that given his leadership
role as a superior who failed to prevent
his subordinates from committing crimes, the gravity of the offence committed by
Kondewa
is greater than that of the actual perpetrators of the crimes. The
Chamber finds that in this case, the fact that Kondewa’s
failure to
prevent was ongoing, rather than an isolated occurrence, had the implicit effect
of encouraging his subordinates to believe
that they could commit further crimes
with impunity, and therefore increases the seriousness of the crimes for which
he has been
convicted.
2. Aggravating Factors
2.1. Prominence in the Community/Breach of Trust
2.1.1. Fofana
- The
Chamber has found that Fofana played a central role in the CDF
organization.[101]
In his capacity as Director of War at Base Zero, he planned war strategies,
selected commanders to go to battle, and on occasion,
issued orders to such
commanders. He also received frontline reports, which went through him before he
passed them to Norman. He
was also responsible for the receipt and provision of
ammunition at Base
Zero.[102] The
Chamber has found that Fofana was seen as having power and authority at Base
Zero and to be the “overall boss of the
commanders”.[103]
- The
Chamber considers that, given his role as a former Chiefdom Speaker, a community
elder and the CDF National Director of War, Fofana
breached a position of trust
in committing the offences for which he has been
convicted.
2.1.2. Kondewa
- The
Chamber has found that, as the High Priest of the CDF organization, Kondewa
played an essential role in the leadership of the
CDF.[104] He was in
charge of initiations, and was held in respect and fear by the Kamajors, who
believed that he could protect them from harm.
The Chamber has found that no
Kamajor would go to war without his
blessing.[105] He
was one of those who made decisions determining when and where to go to war. He
also attended passing out parades and signed the
certificates of
trainees.[106]
- The
Chamber finds that given the cultural context, Kondewa, in his role as High
Priest who blessed the CDF/Kamajors before they went
to battle, and as someone
widely respected for his mystical powers and abilities to immunize people
against harm, held a unique and
prominent position in the community. The Chamber
therefore finds that he also breached a position of trust in committing the
crimes
for which he was convicted.
3. Mitigating Factors
3.1. Remorse
3.1.1. Fofana
- During
the Sentencing Hearing, Counsel for Fofana stated, at the specific request and
on behalf of his client:
[...] Mr Fofana accepts that crimes were
committed by the CDF during the conflict in Sierra Leone. Indeed, at least one
witness was
called on behalf of the Fofana defence, Joseph Lansana, accepting
and attesting to crimes committed by the CDF. Mr Fofana deeply
regrets all the
unnecessary suffering that has occurred in this
country.[107]
- Although
Fofana by this statement does not expressly acknowledge his personal
participation in the crimes for which the Chamber has
convicted him, the Chamber
finds that he has clearly expressed empathy with the victims of those
crimes.[108]
3.1.2. Kondewa
- During
the Sentencing Hearing, Kondewa addressed the court and the public in the
following terms, “Sierra Leoneans, those of
you who lost your relations
within the war, I plead for mercy today, and remorse, and even for
yourselves.”[109]
The Chamber finds that although Kondewa did not expressly recognise his own
participation in the crimes for which he has been found
guilty, the empathy he
has shown is real and sincere.
3.2. Lack of Formal Education or Training
- The
Chamber does not consider lack of formal education per se, to be an excuse which
would mitigate the severity of punishment. However,
the Chamber is aware that
both men were propelled in a relatively short period of time, from civilian life
to an effective position
of authority in a very brutal and bloody conflict, with
no adequate training for the roles which they were to play. The Chamber finds
that it is only reasonable to take account of the fact that inexperience in
difficult situations, does increase the likelihood of
making the wrong
decisions. Whilst this in no way reduces the gravity of the crimes which were
committed, the Chamber recognises
it as a factor in mitigation of
sentence.
3.3. Subsequent Conduct
- The
Chamber has examined the evidence filed by the Fofana Defence regarding
Fofana’s conduct subsequent to the time frame in
which the crimes he
committed occurred. In particular, the Chamber notes the submission of the
Defence in relation to Fofana’s
commitment to and observance of the
Lomé Peace
agreement,[110] and
the unchallenged evidence presented by the Defence in relation to his efforts
subsequent to that agreement to work without any
pay with the NGO community in
ensuring that members of the CDF remained committed to the peace process within
Sierra Leone.[111]
The Chamber also notes the contents of the certificate of good conduct filed by
the Officer in Charge of the SCSL Detention Facility,
attesting to
Fofana’s exemplary behaviour whilst in custody during the course of
trial.[112] The
Chamber commends Fofana’s subsequent conduct in fostering the peace
process, and recognises it as a factor in mitigation
of his sentence.
3.4. Lack of Prior Convictions
- The
Chamber notes that neither Fofana nor Kondewa has any previous convictions. For
purposes of sentencing, a clean slate in terms
of their criminal records, can be
considered as a mitigating
circumstance.[113]
3.5. Necessity as a Mitigating Factor
- In
the course of the Sentencing Hearing, Mr Powles, Learned Counsel for the Defence
of Fofana, invited the Chamber to consider the
Honourable Justice
Thompson’s findings on “Necessity” and to factor the same into
the Sentencing Judgement as a
mitigating circumstance. Mr Powles had this to
say:
[...] the findings and views of Your Brother Judge Bankole
Thompson are at the very least a persuasive mitigating factor when considering
sentence
[...][114]
- We
observe, as Mr. Powles later admitted at this hearing, that the defence of
Necessity was never raised by the Defence nor did its
applicability to the
circumstances of this case, feature for a determination at any stage before the
delivery of the Judgement on
the 2nd of August
2007.[115] In
addition, it is our opinion, that the facts which we have accepted as proven and
which form the basis of our findings of guilt
against the two Accused in the
Judgement, as well as the circumstances surrounding the commission of these
offences, do not support
nor do they give rise to a defence of
Necessity.
3.5.1. Honourable Justice Thompson’s Dissenting Opinion
- In
the process of our deliberations for the issuance of this Sentencing
Judgment, our colleague and brother, the Honourable Justice Bankole Thompson,
provided us with an
advance copy of his dissent where he reiterates his stand
and upholds the defence of Necessity and in which he had this to
say:
I most respectfully dissent from the said Judgment predicated
upon my firm Judicial position taken in my Separate Concurring and Partially
Dissenting Opinion (Annex C thereof) delivered on the 2nd day of August 2007,
and based specifically on the analysis, considerations,
and reasons advanced in
Parts Eight and Nine of the said Opinion and consistent with the Dispositions
made in Part Ten therein, acquitting
the Accused on all Counts of the
Indictment.[116]
- The
Chamber observes here that Parts Eight and Nine referred to by the Honourable
Justice Thompson relate to the defence of ‘Necessity’
and that of
“Salus Civis Suprema Lex Est’ on which he based the acquittal of the
Accused Persons; Moinina Fofana on Counts
2, 4, 5 and 7, and Allieu Kondewa on
Counts 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8 of the Indictment. The Chamber could and would have
addressed these
defences and their applicability adequately and in greater
detail, if as we have already indicated, these issues had been raised
by the
Parties in the course of the trial proceedings or at any stage before delivering
our Judgement. This would have provided the
Chamber the opportunity to address
the defences so raised in the Dissenting Opinion in the said Judgement.
- In
this regard, and without going into a detailed analysis at this sentencing stage
on the defence of Necessity and its applicability,
the Chamber, in arriving at
this conclusion, has based its Decision on the fact that the constitutive
elements of the defence of
Necessity have not been established to sustain it as
a defence, as we have found, particularly in this
case.[117] The
Chamber in this regard and again in arriving at this conclusion, further relies
on the law on this subject as applied to the
facts and principles established in
the celebrated English case of R. v. Dudley and
Stephens.[118]
In that case, which has served as a foundation for the defence of Necessity in
the common law, the Learned Justices decided that
the defence of Necessity was
unfounded, and sentenced both Accused Persons to death.
- Applying
the precedent of Dudley and Stephens, and the law on this defence, the
Chamber, considering the facts and circumstances of this case, concludes that
Necessity cannot
be sustained as a defence in this case and that by a parity of
reasoning, cannot be considered either for purposes of mitigating
the sentences
because the Chamber opines that it either stands as a defence, or fails on all
other grounds or circumstances.
- The
Chamber notes and observes here that Dudley and Stephens was footnoted by
the Honourable Justice Thompson in his Dissenting
Opinion.[119] In
addition and in the same Dissenting Opinion, the Chamber further notes that the
Honourable Dissenting Judge himself, quoting from
his own book, concedes that
“the defence of Necessity bristles with conceptual and doctrinal
difficulties” and that “these
controversies are still
unsettled”.[120]
According to Stephen, the Honourable Justice Thompson continues, the defence of
Necessity is “a subject on which the law of
England is so vague” and
is “essentially a matter of judicial
expediency”.[121]
- The
above comments confirm the fragility of this defence in municipal or national
systems where it may be applicable. The Chamber
considers that it is reinforced
and supported in its decision to rule against the propriety and applicability of
Necessity as a defence
to criminal liability in this case for the reasons that
we advanced earlier in this regard and for the considerations that follow
with
respect to its pertinence and applicability in the domain of International
Humanitarian Law.
3.5.2. Necessity as a Defence in International Humanitarian Law
- Further
to our finding that Necessity is not and cannot be a sustainable defence nor is
it a mitigating factor in this case, it is
equally the Chamber’s view,
suffice to say for our purposes here, that it cannot be accepted either, as a
defence in cases
where Accused Persons are indicted for serious violations of
International Humanitarian Law as is the case with the two Accused Persons
who
we have convicted.
- In
this regard, it is the Chamber’s considered opinion that accepting the
applicability of the defence of Necessity in prosecutions
involving either war
crimes or crimes against humanity, would negate the norms and fundamental
principles protecting persons not
taking part in hostilities and the victims of
armed conflicts and consequently, compromise the objectives which International
Humanitarian
Law seeks to achieve through International instruments and in
particular, the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols I and
II.[122]
- The
Chamber further opines that validating the defence of Necessity in International
Criminal Law would create a justification for
what offenders may term and plead
as a ‘just cause’ or a ‘just war’ even though serious
violations of
International Humanitarian Law would have been committed. This,
we observe, would negate the resolve and determination of the International
Community to combat these crimes which have the common characteristics of being
heinous, gruesome or degrading of innocent victims
or of the civilian population
that it intends to protect.
- It
is further our view, that the argument of fighting the enemy, the AFRC, as the
two Accused Persons indisputably did, in order to
restore the ousted
democratically elected Government of President Kabbah which we hold is rather a
mitigating circumstance, but on
which the defence of Necessity has been found to
be grounded by the Honourable Justice Thompson in his Dissenting Opinion, we
conclude
were carefully planned and premeditated killings of innocent and
unarmed civilians for which we have found the two Accused Persons
guilty. In
these circumstances, the Chamber cannot but conclude that such an argument is
meretricious and without any foundation.
- Furthermore,
the Chamber is of the opinion that the principle of ‘Salus Civis Suprema
Lex Est’, is more an appropriate
concept in legal philosophy on society
and the law that neither occupies a visibly recognisable place in criminal
proceedings as
a defence, nor does it feature as a legal defence that is
established and properly recognised as such under the
law.
3.6. Prevailing Circumstances
- The
Chamber has taken note of some significant and enlightening precedents on
sentencing principles from sister International Criminal
Tribunals of the ICTY
and ICTR that have been cited by the Parties. However, even though the
statutorily oriented sentencing principles
in those cases remain relevant in
guiding and assisting us to arrive at a decision in this case, it is pertinent
to note that there
is an important factual and contextual difference and
distinction that the Chamber would like to draw between those cases as against
this one which we consider relevant and pertinent in scaling the sentences that
we are about to hand down on the Accused Persons
in relation to the Counts for
which we have found them guilty.
3.6.1. Historical Background/Prevailing Circumstances
- The
main distinguishing factor is that the acts of the Accused and those of the
CDF/Kamajors for which they have respectively been
found guilty, did not emanate
from a resolve to destabilise the established Constitutional Order. Rather, and
on the contrary, the
CDF/Kamajors was a fighting force that was mobilised and
was implicated in the conflict in Sierra Leone to support a legitimate cause
which, as we have already seen, was to restore the democratically elected
Government of President Kabbah which had been illegally
ousted through a Coup
d’Etat orchestrated and carried out on the 25th
of May 1997, by a wing of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces that later constituted
and baptised itself as the Armed Forces Revolutionary
Council
(AFRC).
3.6.2. Kamajors alongside the Sierra Leonean Armed Forces
- The
Chamber also finds it necessary to consider a further and additional element on
the role of the Kamajors, from the outset of the
war in Sierra Leone. In effect,
these historically traditional
hunters,[123] from
the evidence adduced, were comrades in arms with the regular Sierra Leone Armed
Forces as early as from the outbreak of the
rebel
war.[124] They
acted as guides to the regular Army and facilitated the war against the
rebels.[125] Indeed,
even the military regime of the NPRC that seized power in a military Coup in
1992,[126] used them
to fight against the rebels and to protect the Constitutional Institutions of
Sierra Leone. In this process, and in defence
of their communities, the local
Chiefs mobilised, enlisted and initiated their young and fit ones, into the
Kamajor Society with
the sole objective of combating the rebels and preventing
the brutal killings of their kith and kin and other atrocities, in addition
to
protecting their lands and their
properties.[127]
- In
executing this legitimate mission however, at a later stage that appears in the
Indictment, and instead of limiting themselves
and directing these attacks on
legitimate military targets and objectives where collateral damage, if any
ensued at all, could be
perceived as justifiable, the Accused Persons and their
Kamajors, as has been elucidated in the factual and legal findings of the
Judgement, went beyond these acceptable military and legal limits and carried
out killings and other atrocities against unarmed civilians
who they
characterised and designated as ‘rebel collaborators’. We find that
these atrocities were perpetrated, even
though the evidence clearly established,
and we so found, that the victims in fact, were disarrayed Sierra Leoneans
including children
fleeing for their lives and for safety from the bloody
exchange of enemy fire, and further, that these civilian captives or fugitives,
were unarmed and were not in the least, participating in hostilities. In fact,
we note here that the crimes for which they have been
found guilty were
perpetrated by the Accused Persons and CDF/Kamajor fighters when combat
activities and operations against the enemy
AFRC forces were already over.
- However,
although the commission of these crimes transcends acceptable limits, albeit in
defending a cause that is palpably just and
defendable, such as acting in
defence of constitutionality by engaging in a struggle or a fight that was
geared towards the restoration
of the ousted democratically elected Government
of President Kabbah, it certainly, in such circumstances, constitutes a
mitigating
circumstance in favour of the two Accused Persons.
- It
should be recognised however, that the crimes for which the Chamber has
convicted them are grave and very serious, but what, in
a sense, atones for this
vice is the fact that the CDF/Kamajor fighting forces of the Accused Persons,
backed and legitimised by
the Internationally deployed force, the ECOMOG,
defeated and prevailed over the rebellion of the AFRC that ousted the legitimate
Government. This achievement, the Chamber notes, contributed immensely to
re-establishing the rule of law in this Country where criminality,
anarchy and
lawlessness, which the United Nations sought to end and was determined to
achieve in adopting Security Council Resolution
1315
(2000),[128] had
become the order of the day.
- We
recall here in this regard, that the Learned Lead Counsel for the Defence Team
of Allieu Kondewa, Mr Charles Margai, himself a
well-informed citizen of this
Country, in his submission at the Sentencing Hearing on the
19th of September 2007, re-echoed these sentiments of
appreciation for the positive contribution of the Kamajors in ending the
rebellion
and for facilitating the restoration of democracy, peace and security
in this Country.
- Mr.
Margai, in a plea for a lenient sentence for his client Kondewa, and also for
Moinina Fofana, had this to say:
We thank God, My Lords, that the
war is over, but this war was described and has been described as the most
brutal known to mankind.
We should not lose sight of that. If it were not for
the sacrifice of the CDF, God knows whether some of us, including my learned
friend Kamara, would be here today. That, I submit, My Lord, is a factor to be
considered, because, otherwise, if a sentence is
severe and there occurs a rebel
war, whether in Sierra Leone or elsewhere, government militias are going to ask
themselves the question:
Is it advisable for us to intervene. If we do, might
we not be treated in the same manner as Allieu Kondewa and
others?.[129]
- He
also stated:
I believe that what is contained in our brief is
comprehensive enough, coupled with the authorities which have been cited, to
assist
Your Lordships in arriving at a fair, just sentencing that will address
future occurrences of a similar nature in a positive light.
[. . . .]
Considering that he has spent over four years in detention, I believe that a
sentence of three years will not be unreasonable.
If he had not spent four
years, I’m sure seven years would be appropriate. But having spent four
years, I believe three years
would be appropriate, at least for the Court not to
be seen to act in
vain.[130]
- In
this context, the contribution of the two Accused Persons to the establishment
of the much desired and awaited peace in Sierra
Leone and the difficult, risky,
selfless and for a very sizeable number of their CDF/Kamajors, the supreme
sacrifices that they made
to achieve this through a bloody conflict, is in
itself a factor that stands significantly in mitigation in their favour. In
fact,
the medal awarded to Moinina Fofana after the restoration by the
reinstated President Kabbah, is a testimony of gratitude and appreciation
of
Sierra Leonean society, which the President
incarnates.[131]
3.6.3. Motive of Civic Duty
- In
the course of the sentencing hearing, Fofana requested his Counsel to put across
five points to the Chamber, which he feels are
in his favour. The first of those
points deal with what could be called a motive of civic duty. It was stated by
Learned Counsel
Powles, as follows:
Firstly, the CDF was established
with the sole aim of protecting the civilian population and restoring the
democratically elected
Government. These were, similarly, Moinina
Fofana’s sole reasons and motivating factors in joining the CDF
movement.[132]
- Kondewa,
for his part, vowed never to give up any territory under his control to any
military government, but only to the democratically
elected Government of
President
Kabbah.[133] In his
allocutus to the Judges during the sentencing hearing, Allieu Kondewa,
addressing the Judges directly in his native Mende language after Learned
Counsel Margai had addressed the Court on his behalf, had this to
say:
As we were fighting, we fought so that civilians would be
secured and democracy would be restored and the staff be given back to President
Tejan Kabbah. We all fought for that
[...][134]
- The
Chamber is of the opinion that there is nothing in the evidence which
demonstrates that either Fofana or Kondewa joined the conflict
in Sierra Leone
for selfish reasons. In fact, we have found that both Fofana and Kondewa were
among those who stepped forward in
the efforts to restore democracy to Sierra
Leone, and, for the main part, they acted from a sense of civic duty rather than
for personal
aggrandisement or gain. This factor in addition to others that have
been raised in this Judgement has, for each of them, significantly
impacted to
influence the reduction of the sentence to be imposed for each
count.
VI. CONCLUSION
- It
is our view that a manifestly repressive sentence, rather than providing the
deterrent objective which it is meant to achieve,
will be counterproductive to
the Sierra Leonean society in that it will neither be consonant with nor will it
be in the overall interests
and ultimate aims and objectives of justice, peace,
and reconciliation that this Court is mandated by UN Security Council Resolution
1315,[135] to
achieve. The motivation of the Accused in this case, where they fought to
reinstate democracy, and the prevailing circumstances
in which their crimes were
committed, has therefore been taken into consideration by the Chamber in
arriving at an appropriate sentence.
- We
again observe, however, that the crimes for which the Accused were tried and
convicted remain very serious crimes, and both Fofana
and Kondewa will bear the
stigma of a conviction after we have pronounced their sentences. The Chamber
hopes that this Judgement
will send a message to future pro-democracy armed
forces or militia groups that notwithstanding the justness or propriety of their
cause, they must observe the laws of war in pursuing or defending legitimate
causes, and that they must not recruit or use children
as agents or instruments
of war. It will, in addition, remind them of their obligation to protect
civilians who are unarmed and not
participating in hostilities, and whose
aspiration is only to protection, regardless of their perceived
affiliation.
- The
Chamber notes that both the Prosecution and the Fofana Defence recommended that
a global sentence be imposed, rather than a separate
sentence for each
crime.[136] It
further notes that while the Kondewa Defence submitted that separate sentences
should be imposed, it recommended a single
sentence.[137] While
the Chamber recognizes that it has the discretion to impose a global
sentence,[138] it
has chosen to impose separate sentences for each of the crimes for which Fofana
and Kondewa have been convicted because it is
our view that this better reflects
the culpability of the Accused for each offence for which they were convicted,
given that distinct
crimes were committed by each Accused in discrete
geographical
areas.[139]
VII. DISPOSITION
FOR THE FOREGOING
REASONS, THE CHAMBER:
SENTENCES Moinina Fofana to the following:
For Count 2 - Violence to life, health and physical or mental well-being of
persons, in particular murder, a Violation of Article
3 common to the Geneva
Conventions and of Additional Protocol II, a TERM OF IMPRISONMENT OF SIX
YEARS;
For Count 4 – Violence to life, health and physical or mental
well-being of persons, in particular cruel treatment, a Violation
of Article 3
common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II, a TERM OF
IMPRISONMENT OF SIX YEARS;
For Count 5 – Pillage, a Violation of Article 3 common to the Geneva
Conventions and of Additional Protocol II, a TERM OF IMPRISONMENT OF THREE
YEARS;
For Count 7 – Collective Punishments, a Violation of Article 3 common
to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II,
a TERM OF
IMPRISONMENT OF FOUR YEARS;
ORDERS that these sentences shall run and be served concurrently.
SENTENCES Allieu Kondewa to the following:
For Count 2 - Violence to life, health and physical or mental well-being of
persons, in particular murder, a Violation of Article
3 common to the Geneva
Conventions and of Additional Protocol II, a TERM OF IMPRISONMENT OF EIGHT
YEARS;
For Count 4 – Violence to life, health and physical or mental
well-being of persons, in particular cruel treatment, a Violation
of Article 3
common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II, a TERM OF
IMPRISONMENT OF EIGHT YEARS;
For Count 5 – Pillage, a Violation of Article 3 common to the Geneva
Conventions and of Additional Protocol II, a TERM OF IMPRISONMENT OF FIVE
YEARS;
For Count 7 – Collective Punishments, a Violation of Article 3 common
to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II,
a TERM OF
IMPRISONMENT OF SIX YEARS;
For Count 8 – Enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed
forces or groups and/or using them to participate actively
in hostilities, an
other serious violation of international humanitarian law, a TERM OF
IMPRISONMENT OF SEVEN YEARS;
ORDERS that these sentences shall run and be served concurrently;
ORDERS that for both Fofana and Kondewa, the sentences shall run from
the date each was taken into custody; and, in this regard,
ORDERS that Moinina Fofana shall serve a TOTAL TERM OF IMPRISONMENT
of SIX YEARS, and that this takes effect from the
29th of May 2003, when he was arrested and taken into
the custody of the Special Court; and further,
ORDERS that Allieu Kondewa (also known as Allieu Musa) shall serve a
total TOTAL TERM OF IMPRISONMENT of EIGHT YEARS and and that this takes
effect from the 29th of May, 2003, when he was arrested
and taken into the custody of the Special Court.
Hon. Justice Bankole Thompson appends a Dissenting Opinion to this Judgement,
in which he has indicated that he makes no pronouncement
as to the sentence and
reaffirms that the defence of Necessity is valid in the peculiar circumstances
of this case. The said Opinion
is attached to this Judgement as Annex A.
INSTRUCTS the Court Management Section to accept the filing of the
present Judgement and to serve it after 5:00 p.m. today.
|
Done at Freetown, Sierra Leone, this 9th day of
October 2007
|
Hon. Justice Benjamin Mutanga Itoe
|
|
Hon. Justice Pierre Boutet
|
|
Presiding Judge Trial Chamber I
|
|
|
[Seal of the Special Court for Sierra Leone]
|
ANNEX A: DISSENTING OPINION OF HON. JUSTICE BANKOLE THOMPSON FROM SENTENCING
JUDGEMENT FILED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 18 OF THE STATUTE
1. I. Introduction
- On
the 2nd day of August 2007, Trial Chamber I, comprising
the Hon. Justice Benjamin Mutanga Itoe, Presiding Judge, Hon. Justice Bankole
Thompson
and Hon. Justice Pierre Boutet delivered Judgement in the CDF Trial,
unanimously, holding Accused Moinina Fofana not guilty on Counts
1, 3, 6 and 8
of the Indictment and accordingly acquitting him on each of the said Counts, and
Accused Allieu Kondewa not guilty
on Counts 1, 3 and 6 and accordingly
acquitting him on each of the said Counts.
- By
the same Judgement dated the 2nd day of August 2007,
the aforementioned Trial Chamber I, by a majority, Hon. Justice Bankole Thompson
dissenting, held Accused Moinina
Fofana guilty of the crimes charged in Counts
2, 4, 5 and 7 of the Indictment and accordingly convicted him on each of the
said Counts,
and also held Accused Allieu Kondewa guilty of the crimes charged
in Counts 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8 of the Indictment, and accordingly convicted
him on
each of the said Counts.
- On
the same date, 2nd day of August 2007, the Hon. Justice
Bankole Thompson filed, pursuant to Article 18 of the Statute of the Court, a
Separate Concurring
and Partially Dissenting Opinion on the Trial
Chamber’s Main Judgement, concurring in the findings of not guilty and the
consequent
acquittal of Accused Moinina Fofana on Counts 1, 3, 6 and 8 and
Allieu Kondewa on Counts 1, 3 and 6. In the said Opinion, the Hon.
Justice
Bankole Thompson dissented from the findings of guilty and consequent conviction
in respect of Accused Moinina Fofana on
Counts 2, 4, 5 and 7 and Allieu Kondewa
on Counts 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8, thereupon acquitting both Accused on all Counts of
the Indictment.
- On
the 19th day of September 2007, a Sentencing Hearing
was held by the Trial Chamber comprising the Hon. Justice Benjamin Mutanga Itoe
and Hon.
Justice Pierre Boutet, pursuant to Rule 16(A) of the Rules of Procedure
and Evidence of the Court.
- The
Chamber now delivers a Sentencing Judgement against the Accused in respect of
the Counts of the Indictment on which they have
been
convicted.
2. II. Dissent from Sentencing Judgement
- I
have had the benefit of reading and digesting the Sentencing Judgement in this
case, for which opportunity I am immensely grateful
to my learned and
distinguished colleagues. I commend them for it.
- I
most respectfully dissent from the said Judgement predicated upon the firm
judicial positions taken in my separate Concurring and
Partially Dissenting
Opinion (Annex C thereof) delivered on the 2nd day of
August 2007, and based specifically on the analyses, considerations, and reasons
advanced in Parts Eight and Nine of the said
Opinion and consistent with the
Disposition made in Part Ten therein, acquitting the Accused on all Counts of
the Indictment.
3. III. Disposition
I, accordingly, make no pronouncement as to
sentences.
|
Done at Freetown this 9th day of October,
2007
|
Hon. Justice Bankole Thompson
[Seal of the Special Court for Sierra Leone]
|
|
Full Citation
|
Short Name (If Applicable)
|
|
Prosecutor v. Fofana and Kondewa
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Fofana and Kondewa, SCSL-04-14-T, Judgement, 2 August
2007.
|
Judgement
|
|
Prosecutor v. Fofana and Kondewa, SCSL-04-14-T, Separate Concurring
and Partially Dissenting Opinion of Hon. Justice Bankole Thompson filed Pursuant
to Article 18
of the Statute, Judgement (TC), Annex C, 2 August 2007.
|
Dissenting Opinion
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Norman, Fofana and Kondewa
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Norman, Fofana and Kondewa, SCSL-04-14-T, Decision on
Lack of Jurisdiction/Abuse of Process: Amnesty Provided by the Lomé
Accord (AC), Separate Opinion
of Judge Robertson, 24 May 2005.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Brima, Kamara and Kanu
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Brima, Kamara and Kanu, SCSL-04-16-T, Trial Judgement
(TC), 19 July 2007.
|
AFRC Sentencing Judgement
|
ANNEX B: TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
1. Special Court for Sierra Leone Decisions and Judgements
- International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Decisions and Judgements
|
Full Citation
|
Short Name (if Applicable)
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kambanda
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kambanda, ICTR-97-23-A, Judgement (AC), 19 October
2000.
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kambanda, ICTR-97-23-S, Judgement and Sentence (TC), 4
September 1998.
|
Kambanda Trial Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kamuhanda
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kamuhanda, ICTR-99-54A-A, Judgement (AC), 19
September 2005.
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Muhimana
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Muhimana, ICTR-95-1B-T, Judgement and Sentence (TC),
28 April 2005.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Ndindabahizi
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Ndindabahizi, ICTR-01-71-A, Judgement (AC), 16 January
2007.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Niyitegeka
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Niyitegeka, ICTR-96-14-T, Judgement and Sentence (TC),
16 May 2003.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Ntagerura, Bagambiki, and Iminishimwe
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Ntagerura, Bagambiki and Iminishimwe,
ICTR-99-46-T, Judgement and Sentence (TC), 25 February 2004.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Ntakirutimana and Ntakirutimana
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Ntakirutimana and Ntakirutimana, ICTR-96-10-A
and ICTR-96-17-A, Judgement (AC), 13 December 2004.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Semanza
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Semanza, ICTR-97-20-T, Judgement (TC), 15 May
2003.
|
|
- International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Decisions and Judgements
|
Prosecutor v. Aleksovski
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Aleksovski, IT-95-14/1-A, Judgement (AC), 24 March
2000.
|
Aleksovski Appeal Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Babic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Babic, IT-03-72-A, Judgement on Sentencing
Appeal (AC), 18 July 2005.
|
Babic Sentencing Appeal
|
|
Prosecutor v. Babic, IT-03-72-S, Sentencing Judgement (TC), 29 June
2004.
|
Babic Sentencing Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Blagojevic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Blagojevic, IT-02-60-T, Judgement (TC), 17 January
2005.
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Blaskic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Blaskic, IT-95-14-A, Judgement (AC), 29 July 2004.
|
Blaskic Appeal Judgement
|
|
Prosecutor v. Blaskic, IT-95-14-T, Judgement (TC), 3 March
2000.
|
Blaskic Trial Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Delalic, Mucic, Delic and Landzo
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Delalic, Mucic, Delic and Landzo, IT-96-21-A,
Judgement (AC), 20 February 2001.
|
Celibici Appeal Judgement
|
|
Prosecutor v. Delalic, Mucic, Delic and Landzo, IT-96-21-T,
Judgement (TC), 16 November 1998.
|
Celibici Trial Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Deronjic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Deronjic, IT-02-61-A, Judgement on Sentencing Appeal
(AC), 20 July 2005.
|
Deronjic Sentencing Appeal
|
|
Prosecutor v. Deronjic, IT-02-61-S, Sentencing Judgement
(TC), 30 March 2004.
|
Deronjic Sentencing Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Erdemovic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Erdemovic, IT-96-22-Tbis, Sentencing
Judgement (TC), 5 March 1998.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Furundzija
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Furundzija, IT-95-17/1-A, Judgement (AC), 21 July
2000.
|
Furundzija Appeal Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Hadsahasanovic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Hadsahasanovic, IT-01-47-T, Judgement (TC), 15 March
2006.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Jokic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Jokic, IT-01-42/1-A, Judgement on Sentencing
Appeal (AC), 30 August 2005.
|
Jokic Sentencing Appeal
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kordic and Cerkez
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kordic and Cerkez, IT-95-14/2-A, Judgement (AC), 17
December 2004.
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Kovac and Vokovic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Kovac and Vokovic, IT-96-23- &
IT-96-23/1-A (AC), Judgement (AC), 12 June 2002.
|
Kunarac Appeal Judgement
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Kovac and Vokovic, IT-96-23-T and
IT-96-23/1-T, Judgement (TC), 22 February 2001.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kupreskic, Kupreskic, Kupreskic, Josipovic and
Santic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kupreskic, Kupreskic, Kupreskic, Josipovic and
Santic, IT-95-16-A, Judgement (AC), 23 October 2001.
|
Kupreskic Appeal Judgement
|
|
Prosecutor v. Kupreskic, Kupreskic, Kupreskic, Josipovic and
Santic, IT-95-16-T, Judgement (TC), 14 January 2000.
|
Kupreskic Trial Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Krstic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Krstic, IT-98-33-T, Judgement and Sentence (TC), 2
August 2001.
|
Krstic Trial Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Dragan Nikolic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Dragan Nikolic, IT-94-2-S, Sentencing Judgement (TC),
18 December 2003.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Momir Nikolic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Momir Nikolic, IT-02-60/1-S, Sentencing Judgement
(TC), 2 December 2003.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Obrenovic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Obrenovic, IT-02-60/2-S, Sentencing Judgement
(TC), 10 December 2003.
|
Obrenovic Trial Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Oric
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Oric, IT-03-68-T, Judgement (TC), 30 June 2006.
|
Oric Trial Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Plavsic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Plavsic, IT-00-39- & 40/1-S, Sentencing
Judgement (TC), 27 February 2003.
|
Plavsic Sentencing Judgement
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Stakic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Stakic, IT-97-24-A, Judgement (AC), 22 March 2006.
|
Stakic Appeal Judgement
|
|
Prosecutor v. Tadic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Tadic, IT-94-1-A, Judgement in Sentencing Appeals
(AC), 26 January 2000.
|
Tadic Sentencing Appeal
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Todorovic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Todorovic, IT-95-9/1-S, Sentencing Judgement (TC), 31
July 2001.
|
|
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Vasiljevic
|
|
|
Prosecutor v. Vasiljevic, IT-98-32-A, Judgement (AC), 25
February 2004.
|
Vasiljevic Appeal Judgement
|
- Cases
from Domestic Jurisdictions
|
Full Citation
|
Short Name (if Applicable)
|
|
R. v. Dudley and Stephens, (1884) 14 QBD 173
|
Dudley and Stephens
|
|
R. v. M. (C.A.), [1996] 1 S.C.R. 500
|
|
|
R. v. Perka, [1984] 2 S.C.R. 232
|
|
|
State v. Drummy, 18 Conn. App. 303, 557 A.2d 574 (1989)
|
|
|
State v. Marley, 54 Haw. 450, 509 P.2d 1095 (1973)
|
|
|
U.S. v. Seward, 687 F.2d 1270, 1275 (10th Cir. 1982)
|
|
- International
Legal Documents
|
Full Citation
|
Short Name (If Applicable)
|
|
Treaties, Conventions and Protocols
|
|
|
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and
relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed
Conflicts, 1125
U.N.T.S. 609 (entered into force 7 December 1978).
|
Additional Protocol I.
|
|
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and
Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed
Conflicts, 1125
U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force 7 December 1978).
|
Additional Protocol II.
|
|
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and
Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, 75 U.N.T.S. 31 (entered
into force 12 August
1949).
|
|
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded,
Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea , 75 U.N.T.S.
85 (entered
into force 12 August 1949).
|
|
|
Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 75
U.N.T.S. 135 (entered into force 12 August 1949).
|
|
|
Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of
War, 75 U.N.T.S. 287 (entered into force 12 August 1949).
|
|
|
|
|
UN Security Resolutions
|
|
|
UN Sec Res. 1315(2000), 14 August 2000.
|
|
|
|
|
Reports
|
|
|
Child Soldiers (Geneva: ICRC, 2003), available at
http://www.icrc.org/
|
|
6. Secondary Sources
|
|
Short Name (If Applicable)
|
|
Books and Articles
|
|
|
Bankole Thompson, The Criminal Law of Sierra Leone (Maryland:
University Press of America Inc., 1999).
|
The Criminal Law of Sierra Leone
|
[1] Prosecutor v.
Fofana and Kondewa, SCSL-04-14-T, Judgement (TC), 2 August 2007
[Judgement].
[2]Prosecutor
v. Fofana and Kondewa, SCSL-04-14-T, Separate Concurring and Partially
Dissenting Opinion of Hon. Justice Bankole Thompson filed Pursuant to Article 18
of the Statute, Judgement (TC), Annex C, 2 August 2007 [Dissenting Opinion], p.
C-24.
[3]
Prosecutor v. Fofana and Kondewa, SCSL-04-14-T, Scheduling Order for
Sentencing Hearing and Judgement, 2 August
2007.
[4] The
Prosecution filed its Sentencing Submission Pursuant to Rule 100(A) of the Rules
(“Prosecution Sentencing Brief”)
on 24 August 2007, the Defence for
Fofana (“Fofana Defence”), filed its Sentencing Brief (“Fofana
Sentencing Brief”)
on 31 August 2007, and the Defence for Kondewa
(“Kondewa Defence”), filed its Sentencing Brief Pursuant to Rule
100(A)
of the Rules (“Kondewa Sentencing Brief”) on 31 August 2007.
[5] Transcript of 19
September 2007, p.
2.
[6] Prosecutor
v. Fofana and Kondewa, SCSL-04-14-T, Request for Leave to Supplement the
Fofana Sentencing Brief, 10 September
2007.
[7]
Prosecutor v. Fofana and Kondewa, SCSL-04-14-T, Prosecution Response to
Fofana Request for Leave to Supplement the Fofana Sentencing Brief, 14 September
2007.
[8] Transcript
of 19 September 2007, pp.
4-8.
[9]
Ibid., pp.
8-16.
[10]
Ibid., pp.
15-16.
[11]Ibid.,
pp. 5-6.
[12]
Ibid., p.
19.
[13]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, para 183, Transcript of 19 September 2007, p.
50.
[14]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, paras 78-79 (Fofana), paras 138-139 (Kondewa),
Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp.
28-29.
[15]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, paras 80-111 (Fofana), paras 141-155
(Kondewa), Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp. 35-39 (Fofana),
pp. 46-48
(Kondewa).
[16]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, paras 129-137 (Fofana), paras 168-173 (Kondewa),
Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp.
32-34.
[17]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, paras 135-136, Transcript of 19 September 2007, p.
35.
[18]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, paras 107-111, paras 119-121 (Fofana), paras
154-155 (Kondewa), Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp.
35, 41 (Fofana), pp.
47-48
(Kondewa).
[19]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, para 116 (Fofana), paras 161-162 (Kondewa),
Transcript of 19 September 2007, p. 29 (Fofana), pp. 46,
96
(Kondewa).
[20]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, paras 123-124 (Fofana), paras 163-167 (Kondewa),
Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp. 35-39 (Fofana),
pp. 46-47
(Kondewa).
[21]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, paras 125-127, Transcript of 19 September,
p. 39.
[22] Fofana
Sentencing Brief, para 48, Transcript of 19 September 2007, p.
78.
[23] Fofana
Sentencing Brief, para 21, Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp. 24, 52-53,
66-68.
[24] Fofana
Sentencing Brief, paras
24-28.
[25]
Ibid., para 27, Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp.
52-53.
[26]
Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp.
67-68.
[27]
Fofana Sentencing Brief, paras 44-46, Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp.
58-64. The Defence relies upon the statements of Simon
Arthy, Frances Fortune,
Rashid Sandy, Foday Sesay and Shekou Tejan-Sankoh, which are annexed to the
Fofana Sentencing Brief as Annexes
A-E.
[28] Fofana
Sentencing Brief, paras 30-37, Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp.
53-57.
[29]
Fofana Sentencing Brief, para 36, Transcript of 19 September 2007, p.
70.
[30] Transcript
of 19 September 2007, pp. 54,
58.
[31] Kondewa
Sentencing Brief, paras 159-164,
166.
[32]
Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp.
86-87.
[33] Kondewa
Sentencing Brief, paras
46-47.
[34] Kondewa
Sentencing Brief, paras 156-157, Transcript of 19 September 2007, p.
84.
[35] Kondewa
Sentencing Brief, paras
117-121.
[36]
Ibid., paras 94-95, 101-102,
147-155.
[37]
Ibid., paras
159-164.
[38]
Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp.
90-94.
[39]
Prosecutor v. Aleksovski, IT-95-14/1-A, Judgement (AC), 24 March 2000
[Aleksovski Appeal Judgement], para 185, Prosecutor v. Delalic,
Mucic, Delic and Landzo, IT-96-21-A, Judgement (AC), 20 February 2001
[Celibici Appeal Judgement], para 806, Prosecutor v. Brima, Kamara and
Kanu, SCSL-04-16-T, Sentencing Judgement (TC), 19 July 2007 [AFRC Sentencing
Judgement], para
14.
[40]
Aleksovski Appeal Judgement, para 185. See also Prosecutor v.
Kambanda, ICTR-97-23-S, Judgement and Sentence (TC), 4 September 1998
[Kambanda Trial Judgement], para 28 and Prosecutor v. Momir
Nikolic, IT-02-60/1-S, Sentencing Judgement (TC), 2 December 2003, para
86.
[41] R. v.
M. (C.A.), [1996] 1 S.C.R. 500, para
80.
[42]
Celibici Appeal Judgement, para 806, Prosecutor v. Deronjic,
IT-02-61-A, Judgement on Sentencing Appeal (AC), 20 July 2005 [Deronjic
Sentencing Appeal], paras
136-137.
[43] UN
Sec Res. 1315(2000), 14 August 2000, para
7.
[44]
Prosecutor v. Dragan Nikolic, IT-94-2-S, Sentencing Judgement (TC), 18
December 2003, para
139.
[45]
Prosecutor v. Tadic, IT-94-1-A, Judgement in Sentencing Appeals (AC), 26
January 2000 [Tadic Sentencing Appeal], para 22, Prosecutor v.
Todorovic, IT-95-9/1-S, Sentencing Judgement (TC), 31 July 2001, para 29,
Prosecutor v. Kupreskic, Kupreskic, Kupreskic, Josipovic and
Santic, IT-95-16-A, Judgement (AC), 23 October 2001 [Kupreskic Appeal
Judgement], para 445, Prosecutor v. Furundzija, IT-95-17/1-A, Judgement
(AC), 21 July 2000 [Furundzija Appeal Judgement], para
249.
[46]
Prosecutor v. Delalic, Mucic, Delic and Landzo, IT-96-21-T, Judgement
(TC), 16 November 1998 [Celibici Trial Judgement], para 1225,
Aleksovski Appeal Judgement, para
182.
[47]
Prosecutor v. Kupreskic, Kupreskic, Kupreskic, Josipovic and
Santic, IT-95-16-T, Judgement (TC), 14 January 2000 [Kupreskic Trial
Judgement], para 852, Prosecutor v. Kordic and Cerkez, IT-95-14/2-A,
Judgement (AC), 17 December 2004, para 1061, Prosecutor v. Stakic,
IT-97-24-A, Judgement (AC), 22 March 2006 [Stakic Appeal Judgement], para
380.
[48] Stakic
Appeal Judgement, para 380, Prosecutor v. Oric, IT-03-68-T, Judgement
(TC), 30 June 2006 [Oric Trial Judgement], para
729.
[49]
Celibici Appeal Judgement, para 847, Prosecutor v. Blagojevic,
IT-02-60-T, Judgement (TC), 17 January 2005, para
833.
[50]
Prosecutor v. Blaskic, IT-95-14-A, Judgement (AC), 29 July 2004
[Blaskic Appeal Judgement], para 683, Stakic Appeal Judgement,
para 380, Oric Trial Judgement, para
729.
[51]
Blaskic Appeal Judgement, para 683, Prosecutor v. Babic,
IT-03-72-S, Sentencing Judgement (TC), 29 June 2004 [Babic Sentencing
Judgement], para 47. The Chamber notes that the Prosecution has discussed some
of these factors, including the vulnerability
and age of victims and the
humiliating and degrading nature of the acts, as aggravating factors
(Prosecution Sentencing Brief, para
56). The Chamber is of the view that these
are more appropriately considered in relation to its determination of the
gravity of the
offence.
[52] Prosecutor
v. Ntagerura, Bagambiki and Iminishimwe, ICTR-99-46-T,
Judgement and Sentence (TC), 25 February 2004, para 813, Prosecutor v.
Vasiljevic, IT-98-32-A, Judgement (AC), 25 February 2004 [Vasiljevic
Appeal Judgement], para 182.
[53]
Celibici Appeal Judgement, para
732.
[54]
Deronjic Sentencing Appeal, para
106.
[55]
Celibici Appeal Judgement, para 763, Blaskic Appeal Judgement,
para 688.
[56]
Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Kovac and Vokovic, IT-96-23-T and IT-96-23/1-T,
Judgement (TC), 22 February 2001, para 850, Prosecutor v. Hadsahasanovic,
IT-01-47-T, Judgement (TC), 15 March 2006, para
2069.
[57]
Blaskic Appeal Judgement, para 693, Vasiljevic Appeal Judgement,
paras 172-173, Prosecutor v. Ndindabahizi, ICTR-01-71-A , Judgement (AC),
16 January 2007, para
137.
[58]
Prosecutor v. Jokic, IT-01-42/1-A, Judgement on Sentencing Appeal
(AC), 30 August 2005 [Jokic Sentencing Appeal], paras 28-29,
Prosecutor v. Obrenovic, IT-02-60/2-S, Sentencing Judgement (TC),
10 December 2003 [Obrenovic Trial Judgement], para 99, Prosecutor
v. Babic, IT-03-72-A, Judgement on Sentencing Appeal (AC), 18 July
2005 [Babic Sentencing Appeal], para
80.
[59]
Blaskic Appeal Judgement, para
686.
[60]
Ibid.
[61]
Blaskic Appeal Judgement, para 686. As noted, the Chamber has considered
certain factors, such as the vulnerability and age of victims, and
the
humiliating or degrading nature of the acts, that are sometimes considered as
aggravating factors, as part of the gravity of
the offence (see n. 51).
[62] Jokic
Sentencing Appeal, paras 28-29, Obrenovic Trial Judgement, para 99,
Babic Sentencing Appeal, para
80.
[63]
Obrenovic Trial Judgement, para 99, Deronjic Sentencing Appeal,
para 67, Jokic Sentencing Appeal, para 28, Babic Sentencing
Judgement, para
60.
[64]
Celibici Appeal Judgement, para 736, Aleksovski Appeal Judgement,
para 183.
[65]
Prosecutor v. Semanza, ICTR-97-20-T, Judgement (TC), 15 May 2003, para 573,
Prosecutor v. Kamuhanda, ICTR-99-54A-A, Judgement (AC), 19
September 2005, para 347, Prosecutor v. Niyitegeka, ICTR-96-14-T,
Judgement and Sentence (TC), 16 May 2003, para 499, Prosecutor v.
Ntakirutimana and Ntakirutimana, ICTR-96-10-A and ICTR-96-17-A, Judgement
(AC), 13 December 2004, para
563.
[66]
Blaskic Appeal Judgement, para
697.
[67] Babic
Sentencing Judgment, paras 81-84, Oric Trial Judgement , para
752.
[68]Blaskic
Appeal Judgement, para 696, Prosecutor v. Erdemovic,
IT-96-22-Tbis, Sentencing Judgement (TC), 5 March 1998, para 16(i),
Celibici Appeal Judgment, para 788, Prosecutor v. Deronjic,
IT-02-61-S, Sentencing Judgement, 30 March 2004 [Deronjic Sentencing
Judgement], para
156.
[69]
Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Kovac and Vokovic, IT-96-23- &
IT-96-23/1-A (AC), Judgement (AC), 12 June 2002 [Kunarac Appeal
Judgement], para 362, Blaskic Appeal Judgement, para
708.
[70] Babic
Appeal Judgement, paras 56-59, Prosecutor v. Plavsic,
IT-00-39- & 40/1-S, Sentencing Judgement (TC), 27 February 2003
[Plavsic Sentencing Judgement], paras
85-93.
[71]
Blaskic Appeal Judgement, para
696.
[72]
Blaskic Appeal Judgement, para 696, Babic Appeal Judgement, para
43, Deronjic Sentencing Judgement, para
156.
[73] The
Parties have also submitted that the jurisprudence of the ICTY, as well as that
of the ICTR, should be considered (Prosecution
Sentencing Brief, para 31, Fofana
Sentencing Brief, para 7, Kondewa Sentencing Brief, para 16). See also AFRC
Sentencing Judgement,
where the Chamber held that the sentencing practice of the
ICTY should also be considered, as “its statutory provisions are
analogous
to those at the Special Court and the ICTR” (para
33).
[74]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, paras 78,
139-140.
[75]
Fofana Sentencing Brief, para 7 and Kondewa Sentencing Brief, para 14. See also
AFRC Sentencing Judgement, where the Chamber held
that “it is not
appropriate to adopt the practice in the present case since none of the Accused
was indicted for, nor convicted
of, offences under Article 5 of the
Statute” (para 32).
[76] Fofana
Sentencing Brief, para
3.
[77] Judgement,
para 786(i) and
(ii).
[78]
Ibid., para 786(iv).
[79] Ibid.,
paras 423-424.
[80]
Ibid., para
750(ii).
[81]
Ibid., para
750(vii).
[82]
Ibid., para
750(xiii)
[83]
Ibid., para
750(xi)
[84]
Ibid., para
750(i).
[85]
Ibid., para
830(i).
[86]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, Annex
D.
[87] AFRC
Sentencing Judgement, para
46.
[88] Judgement,
para 406.
[89]
Vasiljevic Appeal Judgement, para 182. See also Prosecutor v.
Muhimana, ICTR-95-1B-T, Judgement and Sentence (TC), 28 April 2005, para 593
and Prosecutor v. Krstic, IT-98-33-T, Judgement and Sentence (TC), 2
August 2001 [Krstic Trial Judgement], para 714. The Prosecution has
submitted that “the fact that an accused is found liable as an indirect
co-perpetrator
does not entitle him to a lower sentence (Prosecution Sentencing
Brief, para 40), citing the Stakic Appeal Judgement. In Stakic,
while the ICTY Appeals Chamber did claim that “the fact that an accused is
found guilty as an ‘indirect co-perpetrator’
does not necessarily
lead to a lower sentence” (para 380), it
discussed this specifically in relation to Stakic’s case, where he was a
crucial member of a joint criminal enterprise,
and had a “uniquely pivotal
role in co-ordinating the persecutory campaign carried out by the military,
police and civilian
government in Prijedor” (para 380). The Chamber
stressed the need to consider the form and degree of participation of the
Accused
in the crime. Stakic’s role was thus very different than the type
of “indirect co-perpetration” (i.e. aiding and
abetting) that Fofana
was held liable for.
[90] Fofana
Sentencing Brief, para 40, Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp.
67-68.
[91]
Prosecutor v. Blaskic, IT-95-14-T, Judgement (TC), 3 March 2000
[Blaskic Trial Judgement], where the Court held that if a commander
“fails in his duty to prevent the crime or punish the perpetrator
thereof
he should receive a heavier sentence than the subordinates who committed the
crime insofar as the failing conveys some tolerance
or even approval on the part
of the commander towards the commission of crimes by his subordinates and thus
contributes to encouraging
the commission of new crimes” (para 789). In
the Blaskic Appeal Judgement, the Appeals Chamber reduced Blaskic’s
sentence on the basis of factual errors made by the Trial Chamber,
but did not
comment on this aspect of the law.
[92] See
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, para 49. See also Celibici Appeal
Judgement, para
739.
[93]
Judgement, para
890(i).
[94] See
supra, para
47.
[95] See
supra, para
48.
[96] Judgement,
para 883(ii).
[97]
Ibid., paras
968-970.
[98]
Transcript of 2 November 2004, TF2-021, pp. 87-89 & 91-94, Transcript of 14
February 2005, TF2-001, pp.
77-78.
[99]
Child Soldiers (Geneva: ICRC, 2003), available at
http://www.icrc.org.
[100]
See supra, para
49.
[101]
Judgement, para
337.
[102]
Ibid., paras
338-343.
[103]
Ibid., para
341.
[104]
Ibid., para
337.
[105]
Ibid., paras
344-346.
[106]
Ibid., paras 721(iii) and (viii).
[107] Transcript
of 19 September 2007, p.
64.
[108] See
Oric Trial Judgement, where the Chamber held that “the Appeals
Chamber has held that an accused can express sincere regrets without
admitting
his participation in a crime, and that this is a factor which may be taken into
account. This can be done without an accused
having to give evidence or being
cross-examined by the Prosecution. In this case, the Accused made no such
statement, but throughout
the trial, there were a few instances when Defence
counsel on his behalf expressed compassion to witnesses for their loss and
suffering.
The Trial Chamber does not doubt the sincerity of the Accused in
expressing empathy with the victims for their loss and suffering,
and has taken
this sincerity into consideration as a mitigating factor”(para 752). See
also Vasiljevic Appeal Judgement, para
177.
[109]
Transcript of 19 September 2007, p.
91.
[110]
Transcript of 19 of September 2007, pp. 57-58. See also Prosecutor v. Norman,
Fofana and Kondewa, SCSL-04-14-T, Decision on Lack of Jurisdiction/Abuse of
Process: Amnesty Provided by the Lomé Accord (AC), Separate Opinion
of
Judge Robertson, 24 May 2005, para
52.
[111] Fofana
Sentencing Brief, (in particular) Annexes A and B. See Babic Appeal
Judgement, paras 56-59 and Plavsic Sentencing Judgement, paras 85-93,
where the Chamber took into account subsequent conduct in promoting peace and
reconciliation as
a mitigating circumstance.
[112] Fofana
Sentencing Brief, Annex
F.
[113] See
Blaskic Appeal Judgement, para 696, Deronjic Sentencing Judgement,
para 152.
[114]
Transcript of 19 September 2007, p.
54.
[115]
Ibid., pp.
54-55.
[116]
Prosecutor v. Fofana and Kondewa, SCSL-04-14-T, Dissenting Opinion of
Hon. Justice Bankole Thompson from Sentencing Judgement filed Pursuant to
Article 18 of the
Statute, Judgement on the Sentencing of Moinina Fofana and
Allieu Kondewa, Annex A, 9 October 2007, para
7.
[117] R. v.
Perka, [1984] 2 S.C.R. 232. See also U.S. v. Seward, 687 F.2d 1270,
1275 (10th Cir. 1982), State v. Marley, 54 Haw. 450, 509 P.2d 1095
(1973), State v. Drummy, 18 Conn. App 303 (1989). The main constitutive
elements of the defence of Necessity include a reasonable belief that there is
an
imminent or ongoing harm which cannot be avoided with any legal alternative;
the harm sought to be avoided is greater than or as
great as the law which must
be broken; and a connection between the actor’s conduct and the prevention
of the harm. A failure
to establish these elements results in the rejection of
the defence of
Necessity.
[118]
(1884) 14 QBD 273 [Dudley and Stephens], which holds that “a man
who, in order to escape death from hunger, kills another for the purpose of
eating his flesh, is
guilty of murder; although at the time of the act he is in
such circumstances that he believes and has reasonable ground for believing
that
it affords the only chance of preserving his
life”.
[119]
Dissenting Opinion, p. C-28, n. 57.
[120] See
Dissenting Opinion, para 71., where the Honourable Justice Thompson quotes from
his own book (Bankole Thompson, The Criminal Law of Sierra Leone
(Maryland: University Press of America Inc., 1999), pp. 267-268 [The
Criminal Law of Sierrra
Leone].
[121]
Dissenting Opinion, para 71, citing The Criminal Law of Sierra Leone, pp.
267-268.
[122] See
generally Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the
Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, 75 U.N.T.S. 31 (entered
into
force 12 August 1949), Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition
of the Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members
of Armed Forces at Sea , 75
U.N.T.S. 85 (entered into force 12 August 1949), Geneva Convention Relative to
the Treatment of Prisoners
of War, 75 U.N.T.S. 135 (entered into force 12 August
1949), Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in
Time
of War, 75 U.N.T.S. 287 (entered into force 12 August 1949), Protocol Additional
to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949,
and relating to the Protection of
Victims of International Armed Conflicts, 1125 U.N.T.S. 609 (entered into force
7 December 1978)
[Additional Protocol I], Protocol Additional to the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims
of
Non-International Armed Conflicts, 1125 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force 7
December 1978) [Additional Protocol II].
[123] Judgement,
para 60, Transcript of 3 January 2006, Sam Hinga Norman, p. 73, Transcript of 27
January 2006, Sam Hinga Norman, pp.
40-42.
[124]
Judgement, para 62, Transcript of 9 February 2006, Albert Joe Demby, pp.
103-107.
[125]
Judgement, para 62, Transcript of 9 February 2006, Albert Joe Demby, pp.
101-102, 105-107, Transcript of 27 January 2006, Sam Hinga
Norman, p. 37,
Transcript of 15 February 2005, TF2-005, pp.
78-79.
[126]
Transcript of 9 February 2006, Albert Joe Demby, pp. 101-104, Transcript of 2
June 2006, Mohamed Kaineh, pp. 10-12, Transcript of
24 May 2006, Lahai Koroma,
pp. 36-40, Transcript of 25 May 2006, Mohamed Kineh Swaray, pp. 96-97,
Transcript of 15 February 2005,
TF2-005, pp. 78-79, Transcript of 15 March 2005,
TF2-014, pp. 60-61, Transcript of 10 March 2005, Albert J Nallo, pp. 5–8,
Transcript of 17 February 2005, TF2-222, pp.
10-18.
[127]
Judgement, paras 62-69, Transcript of 15 February 2006, Albert Joe Demby, pp. 8,
10 &107, Transcript of 22 February 2006, Ishmael
Koroma, pp. 14-15,
Transcript of 1 June 2006, Joseph Ali-Kavura Kongomoh, II, pp. 44-46 &
48-49, Transcript of 27 January 2006,
Sam Hinga Norman, pp. 40-42, Transcript of
24 January 2006, Sam Hinga Norman, pp. 56-57, Transcript of 17 February 2005,
TF2-005,
pp.
10-18.
[128] UN
Sec Res. 1315(2000), 14 August
2000
[129]
Transcript of 19 September 2007, pp.
83-84.
[130]
Ibid., pp.
86-87.
[131]
Fofana Sentencing Brief, Annex G. The medal was produced in Court by Mr.
Powles during his sentencing submissions (Transcript
of 19 September 2007, p.
64).
[132]
Transcript of 19 September 2007, p.
64.
[133]
Transcript of 10 November 2004, Father Garrick, p.
22.
[134]
Transcript of 19 September 2007, p.
92.
[135] UN Sec
Res. 1315(2000), 14 August
2000.
[136]
Prosecution Sentencing Brief, paras 176-177, Fofana Sentencing Brief, para
48.
[137] Kondewa
Sentencing Brief, paras 39-43,166.
[138] See AFRC
Sentencing Judgement, para 12. See also Prosecutor v. Kambanda,
ICTR-97-23-A, Judgement (AC), 19 October 2000, para
113.
[139]
Unlike, for example, in several ICTY cases in which global sentences were held
to be appropriate where the crimes occurred in one
geographical location or
where the crimes all formed part of one transaction (Krstic Trial
Judgement, para 725. See also Blaskic Trial Judgement, para 807 and
Kunarac Appeal Judgement, paras 342-344).
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