February 14, 2023 [Liberia] Day 13: Civilians detained in Waterside
Witness Civilian 66 is heard
The prosecution questions Civilian 66
The prosecution began by asking Civilian 66 about an incident where she was captured by soldiers in Monrovia. The witness testified that she lived in Monrovia and was about 20 years old at the time. She and her mother lived in Vai Town and sold raw fish. One day, she heard that there were riots in Waterside. When she got home, she did not see her mother, so went to look for her in Waterside. As she got to Waterside, she saw people running, so began to run as well. While running, Civilian 66 and others were arrested and put in a car. They were brought down to Waterside bridge, where they were tied up and told that they would be killed. The capturers began to beat and rape people. A man came over and gave orders to rape and kill. According to Civilian 66, this man gave an order to kill a girl who was taken and slaughtered. The witness gestured her throat being slit to demonstrate what happened. The man who had given the orders was spoke ‘in Sierra Leonean’. Then, a man speaking Liberian English came, the people were released from the ropes and were able to get away.
Alongside Civilian 66, her friend [REDACTED] and mother [REDACTED] were also arrested. She described how soldiers put them in a vehicle and took them under the bridge next to a store which was near a body of water. According to Civilian 66, the man who gave the orders for the girl to be killed under the bridge said that his name was Angel Gabriel, and said “go and tell God I sent you”. The witness repeated that the girl was ‘slaughtered’ with a knife and made the same gesture. She testified that she saw this happen with her own eyes, and that she heard this man speak, but that she did not see him anywhere else. According to Civilian 66, the other man who arrived on scene was a high-ranking Liberian. She didn’t know who he was, but one of the other people who had been captured said he knew him. The witness was not aware of fighting going on at the time, and testified that she only knew about the events in Waterside.
According to Civilian 66, she was arrested just before Old Bridge. The store under the bridge was not painted at the time. She could not remember if it had multiple floors. According to Civilian 66, Angel Gabriel was wearing “army clothes and a green shirt”.
The defense questions Civilian 66
The defense began by asking Civilian 66 about the people that were with her when she went to Waterside. During this line of questioning, the witness’s young child became restless. The hearing was suspended so that the witness could breastfeed. Civilian 66 testified that she was in Waterside with her mother and friend. Her mother was also taken under the bridge. She mentioned that at the initial location in Waterside, where she began to run away, a person she knew was killed. There was some discussion as to the relation of this person to the witness, whether it was her mother or her aunt, as she had said different things during her police interview and at the lower court. The witness finally asserted that it was her mother who had been killed, stating that “we are human beings and we can forget things. This happened a long time ago”.
Civilian 66 was then asked about the girl that was “slaughtered” by Angel Gabriel. The defense pointed out that in the lower court, she had said that Angel Gabriel shot the girl, but at her police interview, she had said that her throat had been cut. Civilian 66 then responded “If I have made some mistakes in some of my explanation(s), you people should consider it, because I am a human”.
According to the witness, the man who ordered their release was wearing “ordinary” clothes. She did not know which group or faction he belonged to, but heard from others under the bridge that he was a high-ranking soldier. She stated that the soldiers that were shooting in Waterside were Angel Gabriel’s bodyguards. The defense asked for the name of the group, pointing out that she had mentioned at the lower court that they referred to themselves as ATU. The witness responded that this could be true, but she could not remember. She could not remember the names of any other soldiers present in the area.
Next, Civilian 66 was asked about how the Finnish police had gotten in touch with her. A boy, whose name she couldn’t remember, asked her if she was present in Waterside and said that some people from Finland would like to talk to her. The defense referred to the police interview, where Civilian 66 had said that [REDACTED] gave her phone number to Employee 1. Civilian 66 said she could not remember this, but it was possible. There was also discussion about any contact that she may have had with Civilian 80.
Finally, Civilian 66 testified that she only knows about World Wars I and II. The defense raised that she had told the Finnish police that the events took place during World War I, which was in 2001. She answered that she has forgotten. At this point, the witness’s child became agitated and the defense decided to end their questioning.
It was pointed out that the witness identified the defendant as Angel Gabriel from the series of photographs presented to her at her police interview.
Witness Civilian 77 is heard
The prosecution questions Civilian 77
The prosecution began by asking Civilian 77 about his experience in Monrovia during the war. Civilian 77 testified that was he living on Old Road, and used to sell food and clothes that he bought from Waterside. One day, he was shopping with his friend when there was a “serious incident that caused some problems”. This was around 2002 and there wasn’t fighting every day. Rebels had attacked government troops all the way to Vai Town and retreated. Civilian 77 explained that these attacks took place three times, and they named the events World War I, II and III, with the third World War ending the war.
The incident in question took place during World War II. Civilian 77 left Old Road to go to Waterside with his friend. They were in a car and saw other cars turning back from Waterside. Their car also turned back, but Civilian 77 and his friend got out and continued on foot. They left Crown Hill, and walked towards New Bridge and Waterside, when they saw some vendors packing their things, while others were still selling. Civilian 77 and his friend decided to continue to Waterside to look for food, as at the time, it was “in high demand”. They saw people with biscuits, and as they approached them, they found out that there was a biscuit store that had been broken into by soldiers. The witness explained that the store was in the market in Johanssen district coming from the direction of the LEC (Liberia Electricity Corporation). Civilian 77 and his friend decided not to go into the store, as sometimes looters were shot, so instead decided to buy biscuits from the people that were leaving the store. His friend went to buy a pack of biscuits and came back.
Soon after, a group of soldiers arrived and started arresting and firing random shots. Civilian 77 described seeing people falling to the ground wounded or dead, including a friend of his who was hit two or three times from behind and died. The witness turned to look behind him and was hit on his left shoulder. He was captured by the soldiers, and taken, along with other people that had been captured, to the bridge going to Vai Town, which was called Old Bridge at the time and is called New Bridge today. The witness described a checkpoint at a crossroad where one road led to Waterside. The soldiers began threatening the people that had been captured that they would be killed because they were all looters. According to Civilian 77, they were all sitting on their “bare butts on the ground”, and his hand was bleeding. The soldiers were shooting over them. Some people were taken into an office, two men sitting next to him were put into a car and taken towards West Point. The witness stated that the commander said that these men must be killed.
According to Civilian 77, the commander called himself Angel Gabriel, others were calling him Gibril and other names. He did not understand what they were saying as they all were speaking in ‘Sierra Leonean’. The witness explained that he knew that Taylor had some Sierra Leonean men, because he knew some of them, but he didn’t know any of the men there. He described that the commander ordered for the two men to be put in the pickup and they left towards West Point. The pickup returned empty.
Civilian 77 testified that one person was executed right in front of him and the other people that had been captured, right next to the water. He described that “the tension started getting high, and we all started crying”. Then, government troops came from the Monrovia city center, saying that Benjamin Yeaten had ordered them to check out what was happening in Waterside. The witness recognized one of the soldiers, as he used to buy things from him, he was from the ATU. This soldier ordered for him to be put into a car and for all the other captured people to be released. There was a fight between the two groups of soldiers, “they even wanted to shoot”. While this was happening, some of the people that had been captured began to run away and the soldier that Civilian 77 knew took him to JFK hospital and contacted his friends.
The witness then explained the location of the store in detail. It was located on the right side of the road when looking from Old Bridge. It was not too far away from the bridge. The name of his friend who died at the shop was [REDACTED]. He did not hear any orders being given, he just saw when the shooting began at the store and a commander on the scene. The witness repeated that some people called the commander Gibril, and some called him Angel Gabriel, and some said that “only he can choose who to die and send them to God”. Civilian 77 saw him both at the checkpoint and the store, he was wearing camouflage trousers and a t-shirt. The witness stated that he still has a scar from his gunshot wound and showed it to the court.
The witness explained that he was taken to a checkpoint by the Old Bridge. The checkpoint was on the road, and he was in an empty area where you could see under the bridge, but they were not under the bridge. There was an office building, which he thought had a downstairs, an upstairs and a staircase. He did not know whether the building still exists today.
Civilian 77 testified that the man that was executed in front of him by the water was killed by the Gibril or Gabriel himself, who shot him. He stated that the man was behind them, he heard a gunshot and when he turned around, he saw what had happened. Angel Gabriel had taken the man away from the rest of the group. The witness stated that the soldiers were speaking Sierra Leonean English, and Angel Gabriel was speaking the same way.
The witness had not heard any news about an arrest in Finland before his police interview. The commander was called Chief Gibril and Chief Angel Gabriel by his soldiers.
The defense questions Civilian 77
The defense began by asking Civilian 77 about the names of other soldiers or commanders present. The witness could not remember the names of anyone else other than Angel Gabriel. The defense referred to the police investigation, where the witness had used the names Chief Gibril and Angel Michael. He responded, saying that he remembered saying this but that he had made a mistake as the commander’s name was Gabriel and not Michael. He explained that the commander called himself Angel Gabriel and said “tell God I sent you” when he killed the man by the river. He further stated that he might have mixed up the names Gabriel and Michael as they are both angels. According to Civilian 77, the men who arrived to release the captured people were from the ATU and one of them was called [REDACTED].
The defense pointed out that at his police interview, he had said that the bridge at the time was called New Bridge and is now called Old Bridge. He clarified that it was called Old Bridge at the time and is now called New Bridge. He did not remember if the building next to it had a roof. He had not gone inside, but he knew that there was an office inside as the soldiers went in and came back out saying that they were going inside to take statements. The witness did not know from whom the statements were taken or what they were about.
Civilian 77 then testified about how the Finnish police contacted him. His friend called one day and said that he knew what had happened to him at Waterside, and that there were people that wanted to talk to victims about the events. This friend had met someone at a teashop talking about the matter. He was frightened at first, but his friend managed to convince him to meet with the person that he had met in the teashop. The witness then travelled into the city to meet with this man, who asked whether he would like to talk about his experiences. This man was Employee 1, who asked Civilian 77 for his phone number and whether he would be willing to meet with the people who “followed the story” about Waterside. After that, Employee 1 took Civilian 77 to meet the Finnish police. The witness did not know any of the other people that were interviewed by the police around the same time as him.
It was pointed out that the witness identified the defendant as Gibril Massaquoi from the series of photographs presented to him at his police interview.
Witness Civilian 69 is heard
The prosecution questions Civilian 69
The prosecution began by asking Civilian 69 about an incident where soldiers captured him in Monrovia. The witness explained that he was 15 or 16 years old at the time and was living in Paynesville with his grandmother. One day, he went to the center to buy goods for their business. When he arrived in Waterside, the whole place was “upside down” and shop owners were closing their stores. He was captured and put into an empty store with a lot of people. Among them, there were soldiers in uniform, some of them were not Liberians, which he could tell from the way they spoke. People were called from the store, he heard gunshots, and these people did not return. The soldiers doing the killing were not Liberian, the witness could tell this from the way that they spoke.
As more and more people were taken out of the store, a man who knew the witness’s grandmother recognized him. He made space for the witness and some other young people in the store, looking for a way to help them escape. The man took them to the bridge. They stayed there until late, but the shooting just went on. Later, they all ran away.
Civilian 69 was captured in Waterside, by the store they used to buy biscuits and other things from and they were put inside. They were captured by soldiers who were arresting everyone outside by the store. He saw a person giving orders and deduced that he was the commander. The leader gave an order to call out people from the store and kill them. When giving orders, the commander used the name Angel and said: “Tell God I sent you.” Civilian 69 did not know if that was his only name or what his full name was. According to the witness, the commander was not Liberian, because the English that he spoke was different to Liberian English.
The witness further explained that the man who recognized him helped him escape and he then ran to the bridge. The bridge was not far as they could still hear gunfire. It was called Old Bridge. He confirmed that he went to Waterside alone that day. He explained that there was fighting ongoing in Liberia as schools were closed, but there was no fighting in that area at the time. He did not know if any of the battles had a specific name. He did not know the names of any of the people that were ordered to go out of the store to the front and never returned. He had not heard about a person being arrested in Finland before his police interview.
The defense questions Civilian 69
The defense began by asking about Civilian 69’s age, as he had testified in the lower court that he was 10 or 11 at the time of the events. The witness explained that when you are born in rural areas, you don’t know your real age, but after the court hearing, he had gone to his grandmother and she had told him. He could not provide the exact location of the store that he went to that day, as different people are now doing business there. The witness testified that people were looting the store when he arrived, but he did not participate in it. The defense referred to the police interview, where he had said that he had gone to a store with no one selling and took goods from there. Civilian 69 answered that he did not remember saying that. Next, the defense pointed out that he had said that soldiers had come and captured people and were putting them all in one place. He confirmed this, saying that people were captured and put in another store nearby.
Civilian 69 explained that the store that they were taken to wasn’t far away from the store that they were captured from. The part of the store that he saw was empty. The defense referred to the police interview, where he had said that the store was selling used clothes and slippers. The witness explained that he used to buy clothes and slippers from that store, but at the time it was empty. He also testified that the commander said “go tell God that I, sent you”. After the people who had escaped left the store, all they could hear was noise.
Next, the witness specified that the hole at the back of the store was a back door. He could not remember the name of the person who had helped him. The defense raised that he had mentioned two different names for this person at his police interview and at the lower court. He answered that he did not know the person and sometimes people might call one person with different names. According to Civilian 69 this is common, as for example someone might have one name in the city, and another one if they move out of the city. He testified that the only name he could remember was Angel. Some people were talking about Gabriel: “They were calling names, only now I can remember, but other people were calling Angel Gabriel, but only Angel I could remember”.
Next, there was discussion as to the year in which the events took place, and whether the police had told the witness the year during his interview. The witness recalled and confirmed that it took place in World War II. He could not remember or confirm the month or whether it took place in 2001 or 2002. He was certain that the incident did not happen in 2003, as in 2003 he and his mother moved back to the village.
Civilian 69 was also asked how the Finnish police contacted him. He testified that he was at a video club where he places bets and someone was talking. He does not know who this person was. The defense raised that he had told the Finnish police that he had the same first name as Civilian 62. Civilian 69 responded that he was chatting at the video club and that’s how he got in contact with this person. After placing their bets, this person said that there were some people who wanted to meet him. He stated that he could not remember whether they had spoken about Angel at the video club.
The witness testified that after meeting this person at the video club, he met with Employee 1, who told him about the Finnish people interested in the matter, at the video club. The defense referred to Employee 1’s notebook that had been admitted as written evidence. The notebook contained a note that seems to be about Civilian 69. He had written the year 2003 under his name and names of various people involved in the Second Liberian civil war. Civilian 69 testified that these names were high-ranking, famous people such as Chief Fifty. He confirmed that he had spoken about such names with Employee 1, as they were “ringing at the time”. He also mentioned that he did not “spell out the names to him”. The witness testified that he spoke to Employee 1 about the names that were making headlines during the war. He told these names to Employee 1, who wrote them down. Regarding the year 2003, Civilian 69 could only think of the fact that he had returned to the village that year. He testified that “it took time” after meeting with Employee 1 before he was interviewed by the Finnish police.
Finally, Civilian 69 repeated that the man who had saved him that day was called by different names but stated that he called him [REDACTED]. He did not know what happened to him afterwards, he was alive when they last saw each other. The defense referred to the police interview, where he had said that someone with that same name had been shot in the back. Civilian 69 testified that he cannot remember all the events from Waterside and he could not remember whether he had said so in the police interview.
It was pointed out that the witness identified the defendant as Angel from the series of photographs presented to him at his police interview.
