Lawyers for Kunti Kamara, a Liberian war criminal who was convicted and sentenced for life by a French court last week for his role during the country's first civil war have appealed his landmark judgment--a decision that will see the entire case being re-litigated.
On Wednesday, the criminal court under the Paris Appeal Court found Kamara, 47, guilty of all 11 counts of crimes against humanity, torture, and barbarism. In a unanimous decision, the nine-person jury agreed with Kamara's victims, known as civil parties and state prosecutors that he committed the crimes in 1993 when he served as a commander for the United Liberation Movement for Democracy (Ulimo). Throughout the trial, Kamara repeatedly denied charges, but did admit that he was a commander and had 80 men under his command.
Marilyne Secci, his lead lawyer repeated her line of argument of unfair trial in a phone interview with us on Monday a few hours after they had filed the action.
"We don't agree with this decision. We think this decision is not correct," said Secci of Wednesday's judgment. "I think there's no prove. My client said he was just a soldier and with no prove and lifetime sentence. That's why for me, the decision is not correct,".
Secci maintained Kamara was prejudiced.
"He was already looked like somebody guilty before his trial because when you arrive at the court and you are accused of crimes against humanity, everyone looks at you as a criminal, even if there's nothing on the file for you," said Secci.
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, Secci defended Kamara's slamming of the witnesses as criminals and liars. She claimed that Kamara did not tell the trial that Ulimo committed no war crimes--a comment that was a major twist in the over three-week legal proceedings.
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"Anything he said was used against him. He never said that Ulimo didn't' make anything in Foya, Lofa county. He said he didn't see anything,".
on appeal, a new court under the Appeal Court and a new jury will hear the case anew in accordance with French law. But it's unclear whether the appeal will take place anytime soon. Under the French legal system, Kamara however reserves the right to file for his release.
Sabrina Delattre, lawyer for the civil parties said she was unmoved by Kamara's appeal.
"As a lawyer, it's not a big surprise," said Delattre. "I am not really shocked by this news. There's nothing to be worried about. It's not a setback. It's Kamara's right to appeal. It's just how it works in the French system,".
The news could be sadly received by the victims, who travelled from Liberia to France for the historic trial. But Delattre assured them that all is not lost.
"And for the victims, I know it can be a bit difficult to understand, but we will see how it goes.
She defended the credibility of her clients.
"The victims and the witnesses were heard and believed. Their testimonies were deemed valuable and were considered authentic. So, I do not see the contrary happening for the appeal,".
This story is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.
