{"id":36119,"date":"2023-05-09T15:43:35","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T15:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war"},"modified":"2023-05-09T16:16:37","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T16:16:37","slug":"ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war","title":{"rendered":"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>Another Defense witness has claimed before Finland\u2019s Turku Court of Appeal in Monrovia that Gibril Massaquoi, a one-time commander with Sierra Leone\u2019s Revolutionary United Front (RUF), did not fight in Liberia\u2019s second civil war, as alleged by prosecutors.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefense 7\u201d [name given him by the Court to avoid retributions], who said he was also a commander for the RUF told the Court that he, Massaquoi and other RUF fighters came to Liberia in 2000 with a delegation for a peace mission at the requests of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), and Charles Taylor, the Liberian President at the time.<\/p>\n

The Court has traveled to Liberia for the second time in less than a month to particularly hear defense witnesses after the Sierra Leonean government did not honor its request to go there.<\/p>\n

\u201cGibril was selected as head of that delegation,\u201d said Defense 7. He said they passed through Lofa County, where they \u201cclear the way\u201d to come to Monrovia. Rebels from the Liberians United for reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), were battling Taylor\u2019s forces in the county and prosecutors alleged that the RUF rebels were used to back up Taylor\u2019s troops against the LURD rebels. They have alleged it was during that time that Massaquoi committed some heinous crimes, including arresting, torturing, locking up civilians and burning them alive.<\/p>\n

Defense 7 denied Massaquoi was involved in what he called a special operation, which he said was carried out on Taylor\u2019s instructions. He alleged Taylor sent them arms and ammunition through Benjamin Yeaten, one of his trusted military chiefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey brought our ammunition via helicopter,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was given to us in Foya and Voinjama.\u201d<\/p>\n

The witness said Taylor rewarded them at the end of the operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, President Taylor gave some money through the leadership of the RUF,\u201d said Defense 7. \u201cECOWAS did not tell us thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

That portion of his testimony does not corroborate with the testimonies of other defense witnesses, who have made no mention of any special operation, although they\u2019ve also claimed Massaquoi and other RUF leaders did come to Liberia for peace talks.<\/p>\n

A little over a year ago, the Pirkanmaa District Court of Tampere acquitted Massaquoi of all charges because, it said prosecutors did not prove them \u201cbeyond a reasonable doubt,\u201d including that he sneaked out of a \u201csafe house\u201d of the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, where he was a \u201cprotected witness\u201d and came to Liberia to fight in the war.<\/p>\n

Defense 7 also challenged prosecutors\u2019 assertion about the matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince 2002, he was in the care of the UN,\u201d said Defense 7.<\/p>\n

The hearings continue on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. Another Defense witness has claimed before Finland\u2019s Turku Court of Appeal in Monrovia that Gibril Massaquoi, a one-time commander with Sierra Leone\u2019s Revolutionary United Front (RUF), did not fight in Liberia\u2019s second civil war, as alleged by prosecutors. \u201cDefense 7\u201d [name given him by the Court to avoid retributions], who said he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":36117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-36119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-liberia","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\nEx-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Another Defense witness has claimed before Finland\u2019s Turku Court of Appeal in Monrovia that Gibril Massaquoi, a one-time ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Another Defense witness has claimed before Finland\u2019s Turku Court of Appeal in Monrovia that Gibril Massaquoi, a one-time ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-09T15:43:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-09T16:16:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1683630880.59.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1429\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1002\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-09T15:43:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-09T16:16:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war\"},\"wordCount\":460,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1683630880.59.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Liberia\",\"Liberia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war\",\"name\":\"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War - Liberia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1683630880.59.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-09T15:43:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-09T16:16:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Another Defense witness has claimed before Finland\u2019s Turku Court of Appeal in Monrovia that Gibril Massaquoi, a one-time ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1683630880.59.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1683630880.59.jpg\",\"width\":1429,\"height\":1002,\"caption\":\"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/\",\"name\":\"Liberia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War - Liberia","description":"Another Defense witness has claimed before Finland\u2019s Turku Court of Appeal in Monrovia that Gibril Massaquoi, a one-time ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War","og_description":"Another Defense witness has claimed before Finland\u2019s Turku Court of Appeal in Monrovia that Gibril Massaquoi, a one-time ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war","og_site_name":"Liberia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2023-05-09T15:43:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-05-09T16:16:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1429,"height":1002,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1683630880.59.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War","datePublished":"2023-05-09T15:43:35+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-09T16:16:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war"},"wordCount":460,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1683630880.59.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Liberia","Liberia"],"articleSection":["all news","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war","name":"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War - Liberia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1683630880.59.jpg","datePublished":"2023-05-09T15:43:35+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-09T16:16:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Another Defense witness has claimed before Finland\u2019s Turku Court of Appeal in Monrovia that Gibril Massaquoi, a one-time ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1683630880.59.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/postQueueImg_1683630880.59.jpg","width":1429,"height":1002,"caption":"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/ex-ruf-commander-denies-gibril-massaquoi-fought-in-liberias-war#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ex-RUF Commander Denies Gibril Massaquoi Fought in Liberia\u2019s War"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/","name":"Liberia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}