Swiss Supreme Court Upholds Liberian Ex-Commander's 20-Year War Crimes Sentence
Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court upheld Alieu Kosiah's 20-year war crimes sentence but acquitted him of crimes against humanity, citing non-retroactivity.
The story in focus
Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court upheld former Liberian rebel commander Alieu Kosiah's 20-year sentence for war crimes committed between 1993 and 1995, Al Jazeera reported. The court acquitted him of crimes against humanity, applying the principle of non-retroactivity because the offence entered Swiss law in 2011. The verdict, dated September 28, was published Friday.
- Kosiah, now 51, was convicted in 2021 of atrocities during Liberia's first civil war, including killing civilians and unarmed soldiers, rape and deploying a child soldier.
- Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court rejected his appeal against war crimes convictions but acquitted him of crimes against humanity.
- The court said crimes against humanity, added to Swiss law in 2011, cannot apply to earlier acts.
- Civitas Maxima called the decision the first war crimes conviction by a Swiss civilian court and the first of a Liberian for civil-war war crimes.
What the court decided
Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court upheld a 20-year prison sentence for former Liberian rebel commander Alieu Kosiah, Al Jazeera reported, while overturning his conviction for crimes against humanity. The court said it rejected his appeal against convictions for violations of the laws of war committed between 1993 and 1995 during Liberia's first civil war.
The verdict, dated September 28, was published on Friday. The court said the crimes against humanity offence, introduced into Swiss law in 2011, could not be applied retroactively.
The original convictions
Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court found Kosiah guilty in 2021 of war crimes as commander of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy rebel group. The court ruled he ordered or took part in the killing of 17 civilians and two unarmed soldiers, as well as rape and the deployment of a child soldier. He also ordered looting and cruel treatment of civilians, according to the verdict.
In 2023, an appeals chamber upheld the 20-year sentence and added a first-ever Swiss ruling that he was guilty of crimes against humanity. Kosiah settled in Switzerland in the late 1990s and was arrested in 2014.
Reactions
Civitas Maxima, which works to bring perpetrators of international crimes to justice, said the decision makes final the first war crimes conviction by a Swiss civilian court and the first conviction anywhere of a Liberian for war crimes during the country's civil wars.
Its director, Alain Werner, who represents victims, welcomed final justice for survivors but said the organisation was deeply disappointed by the acquittal on crimes against humanity. Switzerland recognises universal jurisdiction, allowing prosecution of suspected international crimes regardless of where they were committed.
Why did Switzerland's supreme court acquit Alieu Kosiah of crimes against humanity?
The court applied the principle of non-retroactivity strictly, Al Jazeera reported. Crimes against humanity were introduced into Swiss law in 2011, so the offence could not be applied to acts committed between 1993 and 1995.
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