Lenah
Follow us
Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
No Result
View All Result

Liberian Jungle Jabbah trial in Philadelphia: The quest for justice

October 12, 2017
in Justice Explained
0
0
Home Justice Explained
FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsappEmail
By Alain Werner
 
Beginning on October 2, Mohammed Jabbateh, also known as “Jungle Jabbah,” a former United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) commander during Liberia’s First Civil War, has stood trial in Philadelphia. He is accused of lying about his wartime actions on his US asylum claim in the late 1990s.
 
This is the first time that victims will testify in a criminal trial about the First Liberian Civil War. The trial is also a unique and historical step by the US attorney’s office to present a war crimes case in a national courtroom.
 
If convicted, Jabbateh will face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
 
The US attorney stated, “This defendant allegedly committed unspeakable crimes in his home country, brutalizing numerous innocent victims. He then sought to escape to the United States where he lied about his criminal background on federal immigration forms. This office will use whatever tools are available to bring to justice serious criminals who abuse our immigration process by concealing their background and history.”
 
The Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP), based in Liberia, together with Civitas Maxima (CM), based in Geneva, have been working with victims since 2012 to document war crimes committed in Liberia.
 
They have recently launched the Liberian Quest for Justice campaign, which will provide a public and accessible account of the Jungle Jabbah trial in Philadelphia. This account will be apolitical, balanced, and unbiased.
 
During its two civil wars over a 14-year period, from 1989 to 1996 and 1999 to 2003, Liberia was left ravaged, with an unspeakable level of human suffering and economic devastation. An estimated 150,000 civilians were killed.
 
Despite explicit recommendations by the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2009, neither the Liberian government nor the international community have prosecuted perpetrators for war crimes committed during the First Liberian Civil War. This is largely due to the fact that many key perpetrators of the civil war still hold important political positions in the Liberian government today.
 
Certainly, it is advantageous to have cases and prosecutions take place in Liberia, but because many alleged perpetrators remain in political power, that is not a viable solution at present. Therefore, victims have been seeking justice outside of Liberia.
 
It is clear that the Jabbateh trial is momentous, marking the beginning to an end of a culture of impunity in Liberia. Coincidentally, Liberia’s presidential and legislative elections took place on October 10, marking a time of transition for Liberia as a country.
 
The Philadelphia trial is just the first chapter. The Liberian Quest for Justice campaign will run throughout 2018 and will also cover any other criminal trials outside Liberia of alleged Liberian war criminals. Several other Liberian cases are expected to go forward in European countries that have extra-territorial jurisdiction for international crimes.
 
GJRP and CM hope that this renewed quest for justice for Liberian war crimes victims will encourage the Liberian government to provide justice for Liberian victims in its national courts.
 
Alain Werner is a lawyer and the Director of Civitas Maxima (Facebook, Twitter). He has worked for the Prosecutor’s Office of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), including on the trial of the former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor. Mr. Werner has also represented victims in various other trials, including the case against former president of Chad, Hissène Habré. He currently represents Liberian plaintiffs in a war crimes case in Switzerland against Alieu Kosiah
 
This piece was originally published by the International Justice Monitor and is republished here with permission. 
 
Image: Civitas Maxima/Twitter 
Tags: universal jurisdiction
ShareTweetShareSendSend

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform connecting conversations about international justice.

Related Posts

A legal path to justice emerges for Myanmar
Featured

A legal path to justice emerges for Myanmar

by Sean Bain
October 7, 2018
0
56

On September 27 a partial but significant foundation was laid to provide accountability for gross human rights violations in Myanmar,...

Read more
Lawfare: Iran-US nuclear deal row to play out in Hague Courtroom (Part I)

Lawfare: Iran-US nuclear deal row to play out in Hague Courtroom (Part I)

September 26, 2018
56
A trial for history: Thomas Kwoyelo in Uganda

A trial for history: Thomas Kwoyelo in Uganda

September 25, 2018
67
Celebrating women in peacekeeping

Celebrating women in peacekeeping

September 24, 2018
55
Hague court could give Iran a moral victory over the US (Part 3)

Hague court could give Iran a moral victory over the US (Part 3)

September 22, 2018
75

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform connecting conversations about international justice.

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform aimed at a worldwide audience of 18-35 year olds, especially in countries where people are looking for sustainable and innovative solutions to problems of justice, peace and security. Justice can feel too abstract, too often owned by experts. We make the conversations lively and accessible.

Follow Us

Quick Links

  • Featured
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

 

  HPPJ Forum Login
Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
No Result
View All Result
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us

© 2018 Justice Hub

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Login

Lost password?
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.

REPUBLISHING TERMS

You may republish this article online or in print under our Creative Commons license. You may not edit or shorten the text, you must attribute the article to Aeon and you must include the author’s name in your republication.

If you have any questions, please email nsharafa@gmail.com

License

Creative Commons License AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
Liberian Jungle Jabbah trial in Philadelphia: The quest for justice