The Residual Special Court (Special Court for Sierra Leone) has reached a significant milestone, with the discharge later today, Monday as the first person convicted of war crimes to complete his full sentence, a press statement from the SCSL says.
Moinina Fofana, the one-time Director of War for the Civil Defense Forces, ends his sentence at midnight on Monday, May 28, 2018.
Fofana was convicted by the SCSL on five counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He was sentenced to a prison term of 15 years, with credit given for time served in custody since his arrest in May 2003.
The SCSL was set up in 2002 as the result of a request to the United Nations in 2000 by the Government of Sierra Leone for “a special court” to address serious crimes committed against civilians and UN peacekeepers during the country’s 11-year civil conflict.
The Residual Special Court was set up in 2013, after the Special Court closed, to take over the continuing legal obligations of the Special Court, including supervision of sentences.
The RSCSL is also responsible for witness protection, and is mandated to prosecute any person who seeks to attack or intimidate witnesses who testified before the Court.
A statement from the court says Fofana was granted conditional early release in March 2015, and since that time he has served the remainder of his sentence in his community of Bo, subject to stringent restrictions and monitoring.
Seven other persons convicted by the SCSL continue to serve sentences ranging from 20 to 52 years.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is serving his 50-year sentence at age 64 in a UK maximum prison, after being convicted of supporting the rebellion in Sierra Leone’s war, notorious for hacking off limbs of victims.
Other Sierra Leonean convicts are serving their sentences in Rwanda, with some having died before completing their jail terms.