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Trial of Kunti Kamara, day 4. This former rebel leader during the civil war in Liberia has been before the Paris Assize Court since Monday, October 10. This is the first time that crimes from the Liberian conflict have been tried in France. Kunti Kamara was a leader of the Ulimo rebel group in the 1990s. He is accused of complicity in crimes against humanity, torture and acts of barbarism.
Major Romuald Peruggia was one of the main French investigators. He traveled to Liberia with the investigating judge in April 2019. It was the first time that a foreign judicial authority had visited the country to investigate the war.
They heard witnesses, victims, carried out eight reconstructions. But how to ensure identities? The veracity of the statements? ” The reconstructions help to confront the versions with the realities on the ground. We are also looking for unpublished witnesses », I explained le major Peruggia.
Because the testimonies are the basis of the accusation. And that’s what the lawyers for Camera Package. The ex-rebel is accused of having killed a woman suspected of witchcraft. People pointed to his alleged grave. ” You are told where a corpse is and you don’t dig to check ? asks Me Tarek Koraitem, Kunti Kamara’s lawyer. ” The investigating judge was the decision maker in all proceedings “replies Major Peruggia.
The rebel leader and his men are accused of killing a man, cutting open his chest with an ax and eating his heart. ” We could have looked for the proof. There was no DNA analysis, no telephone expertise, no fingerprinting. This folder is empty “, declared Me Tarek Koraitem.
The French investigator opposed the technical and logistical difficulties, the fact of being outside France, with a local police force without means. ” The opposing party had only to request these acts itself “, retorts Me Sabrina Delattre for the civil parties. ” The file is solid, well constructed and the testimonies intersect “, she says.
► To read also: Liberia: on the first day of his trial, Kunti Kamara continues to deny en bloc