The trial opened on June 11, 2018 in Philadelphia, United States of America of a former Liberian Defence Minister on charges of immigration fraud and perjury, Radio France International, RFI reported. Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu, a US resident since 1972, is accused of lying to immigration authorities in 2006 while trying to obtain American citizenship.
A frequent visitor to his native Liberia where he served under Charles Taylor as Defence Minister and has recently been active in politics, Woewiyu is accused of concealing his role in the Liberian Civil War. Liberian human rights activists in the US hope that the trial will help bring up charges of war crimes against Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu.