Catherine MAIA
The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSS) upheld the
convictions and sentences of three former Armed Forces Revolutionary
Council (AFRC) leaders. The three-judge panel rejected the appeals of
contempt for interference with prosecution witnesses.
Ibrahim
Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu appealed their September 2012
convictions for "knowingly and willfully interfering with the
administration of justice" by interfering with prosecution witnesses who
had testified against them in their trial for war crimes and crimes
against humanity. Samuel Kargbo, who entered into a plea agreement and
resultantly pled guilty to the charges in July of 2011, "appealed what
he alleged was the trial judge's failure to order protective measures
for him."
According to the Court's Press Release, Kamara's appeal
was dismissed as incompetent on the grounds that he failed "to
stipulate 'the grounds on which the appeal was made'." Kanu's appeal was
dismissed because "several, if not all, of his grounds of appeal suffer
from . . . deficiencies." Finally, Kargbo's appeal was also dismissed
as incompetent because "it was not an appeal either against conviction
or against sentence, and thus did not fall with the appellate
jurisdiction of Appeals Chamber." The Court thus affirmed the sentences
imposed by the Trial Chamber.
Source : ASIL
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