RUF Rebel Leaders Sentenced Following Conviction Tied to Sierra Leone Civil War Atrocities

Three former leaders of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) who had earlier been convicted of overseeing atrocities during Sierra Leone’s civil war have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 25 to 52 years.

Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon and Augustine Gbao were convicted by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in February for various war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out from 1991-2001. In handing down the sentence the judges noted “The chamber concluded that the inherent gravity of the criminal acts for which Sesay, Kallon and Gbao have been convicted is exceptionally high.”

The judges then handed down the sentencing with Sesay to serve 52 years, Kallon 40 years and Gbao 25 years.

Both Sesay and Kallon were convicted on 16 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity while Gbao had been convicted on 14 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Pierre Boulet, acting as the presiding judge in the case, stated “The crimes were committed on a massive scale... Sierra Leoneans were raped, enslaved, hacked to death and brutalized.” He commented further, “The impact of the crimes on the Sierra Leonean society has been enormous.”

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