April 12, 2023 [Finland] Day 44: The Court returns to Finland
Witness Michael Bona is heard
The defense questions Michael Bona
The defense began their questioning by asking Michael Bona about his relationship with Gibril Massaquoi. Mr. Bona testified that he knows Gibril Massaquoi from Sierra Leone, they are biological brothers. Gibril Massaquoi was in prison in Freetown in 1999 and he was released that same year. After his release, Massaquoi lived in Makeni. He was a spokesman for the RUF anddid not have any additional roles in the RUF at the time. Michael Bona himself lived in Bo. They did not see each other at the time. In 2000, Gibril Massaquoi was in Freetown and participated in the peace negotiations. He was invited there by the Sierra Leonean government. Massaquoi also worked as a special assistant to Foday Sankoh, the leader of the RUF. The office was located on Spur Road in Freetown, Bona had visited the office a few times. At the time, Massaquoi lived on Doherty Street in Murray Town. He lived there with Elizabeth and their children, as well as Elizabeth’s brother. The witness testified to visiting Massaquoi twice in early 2000 before 8 May.
On 8 May 2000, there was a large demonstration near Sankoh’s apartment. Bona testified that Massaquoi left Freetown and people, including himself, were arrested all over. He was arrested in May 2000 and released on 9 August 2001. The next time Bona saw Massaquoi was in 2002. They met in Freetown, Massaquoi had moved there from Makeni. Massaquoi was having problems with his colleagues, such as Issa Sesay, so the UN had to fly him to Freetown. The witness named the people that Massaquoi was living with in Thunder Hills in 2002. They met in March or April, it was very close to the elections in May. After this meeting, Bona and Massaquoi stayed together until moving to Finland together. They lived together in 2002 in Thunder Hills and in March 2003, when Issa Sesay and others were indicted, they moved to a safe house together.
In March or April 2002, Massaquoi was working on an election campaign. He would occasionally travel for a few days to do campaign work in places such as Segbwema. Massaquoi was involved in the activity of the SPP, the Sierra Leone Peoples’ Party. He talked with young voters to convince them to vote for the party. Massaquoi was not working at the time. Bona could not remember any additional activities Massaquoi might have had at the time. They saw each other almost daily when living together in Thunder Hills.
Bona and Massaquoi both moved to the safe house in March 2003. Bona later found out that Massaquoi had an agreement with the Special Court to move him to the safe house for security reasons. The safe house was located in Pipeline, near Wilkinson Road. The witness provided the names of the other people living in the safe house. They lived there for a year. There was a room downstairs for the guards to use. Upstairs he had his own room, while the children and Gibril had theirs. The house was fenced all around. The guards were there to protect them, to prevent anyone from going in or out. There were always two guards present. Bona testified that no one could or wanted to go out from the safe house, for safety reasons. They had a cook as they could not go outside to buy groceries. Occasionally, Massaquoi left the safe house to go to a meeting with the UN and would return after a few hours. The guards would open the gate to let a car in that would take him. Massaquoi was being hidden from the neighbors as well, because he was working for the Special Court and the Special Court had to protect him.
Bona testified that the guards were always on duty at the safe house. They were armed and they did not sleep on shift. New guards would come in to change shifts. After living for a year on Wilkinson Road, they moved to Jomo Kenyatta Road near the Special Court. The Special Court decided for them to move. They lived on Jomo Kenyatta Road for a few years, until 2004. In 2004, they moved to Kington and lived there until 2005. In 2005, they moved to another safe house. These changes were always done for security reasons.
The witness described a security threat that occurred in Kington: They were all inside and the security guards were downstairs. Massaquoi was praying, and Bona was in the living room with the children. Suddenly, they heard noises of a struggle and thought that somebody was attacking. Once they heard the glass door shatter, they realized that the guards were fighting with the attackers. They gathered into a corner together and called the police. When the police arrived, they were behind the house. Bona could not remember the date of the attack, but estimated that it took place in 2005. He explained that the attack was directed at Massaquoi, as he was the person being protected in the safe house. He never found out who was behind the attack. The Special Court investigated it, but Bona did not know anything about the results of their investigation. The security measures in place at the safe house were changed after the attack. After the attack, uniformed, visibly armed police officers were introduced to protect the safe house. Apart from this, nothing else about the security measures changed.
Bona testified that Massaquoi did not leave the safe house alone. He would only leave with the security guards to go to the office. In 2006, when his daughter died, Massaquoi and Bona left the house to bury her. They returned the next day. In 2007, Gibril travelled to United States, but Bona did not know what he was doing there. He was not gone for long, less than a month.
The witness was not aware of any other names used for Massaquoi except Gibo, a nickname used by his friends. Bona knew Defense 08, he was one of the security guards at the safe house. Bona had met Defense 08 in 2019 in Freetown. They know each other and Defense 08 had called him when he was visiting Freetown. They met at his office at the police headquarters. They had not seen each other or been in contact since this meeting. Bona testified that at the safe house, they received an allowance for their living costs. The guards brought a book every Friday and Massaquoi signed for the money. The witness provided the name of the cook at the safe house. She was working there when they arrived in March 2003.
The prosecution questions Michael Bona
The prosecution began by asking how Bona knew about Gibril Massaquoi’s whereabouts in 1999 and 2000. Bona testified that he received a lot of information in prison from the inmates and prison staff. He also sent letters through the Red Cross to his family in Bo. He had heard Massaquoi talking on the radio. When he was talking on the BBC, they knew he was in Makeni. Bona confirmed that he was in prison between 8 May 2000 and 6 August 2001 and that he met Massaquoi for the first time after his release in March or April 2002. Bona did not go with Massaquoi on his campaign trips that year. At the time, they lived together in Thunder Hills and saw each other almost every day. Massaquoi did not travel abroad in 2002, he did not leave Sierra Leone after being flown to Freetown by the UN. As they lived together in 2002, Massaquoi could not go anywhere without Bona knowing.
Massaquoi was only allowed to bring his immediate family to the safe house. Not everyone living at Thunder Hills was allowed to go with him to the safe house. At the time of the move, Bona was 16 years old. The Special Court did not perform any background checks, as Massaquoi was able to decide who would move into the safe house with him. They did not have any visitors at the safe house besides in 2008, when they were about to leave for Finland. The office Gibril Massaquoi went to was the office of the Special Court, but he did not go there often. When Massaquoi went to the office, he would not stay for long. Besides the funeral in Bo and the one trip to United States, Massaquoi did not leave the safe house. Bona was not aware where in the United States Massaquoi had gone to. He travelled with the Special Court, but Bona did not know with whom exactly.
Regarding the attack on the safe house, Bona testified that everyone living there was present at the time of the attack. The glass door that was broken was on the first floor. It was attached to another door, the glass door was the on the inside. As the struggle was happening in the front of the house, the family was inside, gathered in the kitchen at the back of the house. The security guards prevented the attackers from getting into the house and to the people inside. Bona did not think that the guards managed to detain the attackers. The family remained within the fence the whole time. When the police arrived, they were by the fence, outside the house.
In 2019, Defense 08 called the witness when he was in Freetown. Defense 08 happened to know that he was in Freetown, but Bona did not know how. They talked about Gibril, the family and how everyone was doing. He and Defense 08 had been friends from the time Defense 08 began protecting them. He was not aware of any other family members Gibril Massaquoi might have had in Liberia. He did not know who brought Massaquoi’s daughter from Liberia, he met her at the safe house. Bona had not personally met Gilbert Morrisette, but his brother talked about him in the safe house. He had lived with Defense 01 at Thunder Hills for a short time from 2002 to 2003. Defense 12 is his brother. Defense 12 did not move into the safe house with Massaquoi because he has his own family in Bo, he did not live in the city like Bona and Massaquoi.
Bona testified that his legal first name is Michael. He testified that he had not used the name Agent, but he cannot prevent others from calling him what they want. His friends had called him Agent, 116 and Willow. Gibril Massaquoi had sometimes called him Agent. Bona testified that he has never been a member of the RUF. He was arrested because of his connection to Gibril Massaquoi, people saw him as part of the RUF due to his family ties. The prosecution pointed out that some other people questioned during the case had said that he was a member of the RUF. Bona responded that he does not know who would have said so, and that the notion of membership should be defined precisely – one cannot be a member of an armed group without being trained to do so.
Final question from the defense
The witness testified that he had been a member of the political party that followed the RUF, the RUFP.
Witness Gilbert Morrisette is heard
The defense questions Gilbert Morrisette
The defense began by asking Gilbert Morrisette about his educational and professional background. Morrisette testified that he graduated the Royal Canadian Police Academy. He worked for the Special Court for Sierra Leone between 2002 and 2008. He started as an Assistant Chief Investigator under Dr. Alan White and after Dr. White’s departure, he became the Chief Investigator of the Special Court. He reported to the heads of the Criminal Investigations Unit and the Victim and Witness Section. His office, the Office of the Prosecutor and the Investigation Unit were a part of the Special Court.
Morrisette had been working for a short while at the Special Court when Dr. Alan White and Corinne Dufka introduced him to Gibril Massaquoi in 2002. Corinne Dufka was a human rights investigator, who had known Massaquoi beforehand. Morrisette attended some of the interviews the OTP conducted with Massaquoi, but only at the beginning. He could not remember exactly when these interviews began, but estimated that they started very early, maybe around 2002. The OTP was seeking any information Massaquoi had in relation to the civil war in Sierra Leone, all the atrocities that he knew about. They were conducted on Special Court premises, and sometimes in hotel rooms or at safe houses. Morrisette had also met Massaquoi outside these interviews. He testified that he may have met him briefly after an interview, as he was waiting to be transported back to the safe house. Morrisette could not recall Dr. Alan White or any other interviewer meeting with Gibril Massaquoi outside the interviews.
Morrisette testified that almost right after the beginning of the interviews, Massaquoi was brought to the VWS for protection. He explained the different offices of the court that worked with witnesses.
The witness stated that it was likely that Massaquoi had a Witness Protection Agreement. When this Agreement was drafted in October 2002, Massaquoi was under the Witness Management Unit and was transferred under the Witness Protection Unit after it was signed. The Witness Protection Unit placed Massaquoi in a safe house, but Morrisette could not remember when this took place. He had met with Massaquoi while he was living in a safe house. These meetings were held at the OTP office or in a hotel, such as Mamba Point. The meetings were held based on the request of the prosecutor’s office or the investigation unit.
Morrisette recalled one unofficial meeting, where no documents were prepared. Massaquoi contacted Morrisette once, he was upset about not being allowed to leave the safe house. Morrisette called the director of the Witness Management Unit and picked up Massaquoi from the safe house to join him and two other members of the OTP. It was a Sunday afternoon and they went to the beach. No documents were drafted for this meeting, which Morrisette described as a “social meeting.” Morrisette was not aware of any private meetings between Dr. Alan White and Massaquoi.
The witness testified that Massaquoi was always available for a meeting when one was requested. The meetings were arranged quickly after the request had been sent, only 10 to 20 minutes later. Morrisette was not aware of Massaquoi leaving the safe house without authorization or leaving the first safe house for a long period of time. Morrisette was not aware of the type of protection Massaquoi had before being placed in the safe house.
Neither Morrisette nor anyone else from the Special Court had asked Massaquoi to go to Liberia. Morrisette speculated that the validity of Witness Protection Agreement that Massaquoi had signed would have ended if he committed any war crimes or participated in any combat while under the agreement. The decision to end the agreement would have come from the OTP. According to Morrisette, no such decision was ever taken.
The witness testified that it was possible that, in 2003, he would have contacted Massaquoi on the telephone without meeting with him. He could have called Massaquoi or vice versa. The witness knew of Sam Bockarie. He had not been involved with him other than when his body was brought to Sierra Leone. Morrisette went to the airport to meet the plane carrying Bockarie’s body. He could not remember when this took place, but speculated that it was on a Sunday. At the time, Gibril Massaquoi was in the safe house. Morrisette was not aware of any role he may have had in bringing Sam Bockarie’s body to Sierra Leone. He was just told by Dr. Alan White to go to the airport to collect the body. The witness could not say how the body of Sam Bockarie was identified, he was not present when it occurred. Sam Bockarie was a member of the RUF and a part of Charles Taylor’s troops.
Morrisette testified that Gibril Massaquoi was a spokesman in the RUF. He was not sure whether he held a high rank in the organization. The reason why he was not indicted by the Special Court was because of his cooperation as a witness. Gibril Massaquoi was a crucial witness for the OTP as he had many connections within the RUF and with Charles Taylor. Massaquoi was placed in a safe house due to concerns over his security. RUF fighters went to Liberia through Lofa county to join Charles Taylor’s troops.
The witness explained that the investigative team also conducted interviews in Liberia. People were questioned on the RUF’s role in the Liberian civil war, the RUF’s connections with Charles Taylor, and Taylor’s role in the conflicts. These interviews were conducted all over Liberia, in Lofa county, Monrovia and elsewhere. The witness stated that everything could be checked in the archives of the Special Court registry. Morrisette participated in these interviews, as did Alan White and Corinne Dufka. In total, there were 12 to 15 investigators. Morrisette had read through some of these interviews, and had passed them on to Mr. Haddad, the head of the Criminal Intelligence Unit at the Special Court, who entered them onto his database. He estimated that the investigators of the Special Court conducted a hundred interviews in Liberia. The names Angel and Angel Massaquoi came up in these interviews, they were nicknames for Gibril Massaquoi. The witness repeated that everything could be checked in the archives, they were all handled by Mr. Haddad.
Morrisette repeated: “The name Gibril Massaquoi came up. Angel Gabriel came up. We knew who he was”. He did not know if Angel Gabriel participated in fighting in Liberia. The defense pointed out that Morrisette had testified in the lower court that the names Gibril Massaquoi and Angel Gabriel had not appeared in the interviews. He testified that he did not remember being asked that and that he would not have replied as such if he was asked.
The prosecution questions Gilbert Morrisette
The prosecution began by asking Gilbert Morrisette why Gibril Massaquoi was chosen as a witness for the Special Court. The witness testified that Massaquoi had valuable information. A witness was not chosen just like that, it was a relationship that had to be built over time. Massaquoi was first a source of Corinne Dufka’s, who introduced him to Alan White, who then introduced him to Morrisette. As they met with Massaquoi, the interviews were sent to other units who evaluated the information. Morrisette had not done any specific research into Massaquoi’s background, “Everyone in Liberia and Sierra Leone knew who he was”. Massaquoi was known as the spokesman of the RUF. He used to be a teacher, he was married and was teaching his own children. The witness did not know Massaquoi’s rank, title or history in the RUF. He did not know of any crimes Massaquoi may have committed in Sierra Leone.
Morrisette could not remember when the RUF joined Charles Taylor’s forces in Liberia. He speculated that they had a financial motive for doing so. He did not know who would have passed on money to who. He did not know at whose request or under whose direction the RUF fought in Liberia. Morrisette described Gibril Massaquoi as a credible witness. The OTP wanted to know everything he knew about the conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and what he knew about the RUF. He could not remember how often these interviews took place, or whether there were long breaks between interviews. He testified that it was impossible for Massaquoi to travel abroad between interviews, as he was under the protection and surveillance of the Witness Protection Unit.
The witness did not know how many safe houses Massaquoi had lived in. The investigators had nothing to do with the operation of the safe houses, this was up to the Witness Protection Unit under the Registrar. Morrisette was not sure whether he could remember an attack against one of the safe houses. He did not know whether Massaquoi or his family received visitors in the safe houses. He did not know whether Massaquoi was allowed to leave the safe houses to meet his friends. He could not remember whether Massaquoi placed in the first safe house because of a particular event. He could not remember how many interviews he had done with Massaquoi. He did not know whether any information on Massaquoi’s involvement in the peace negotiations in Liberia came up in the interviews. He could not describe the relationship between Massaquoi and Charles Taylor before Massaquoi was transferred into the safe house. He was not aware of Massaquoi supplying diamonds to Charles Taylor. He was not sure that the RUF was bringing diamonds to Charles Taylor, but speculated that they were.
Morrisette had heard of the RUF house in Monrovia. He explained that it was a place where the RUF was staying when they went to discuss business with Charles Taylor. He was “pretty sure” that Massaquoi had been there for that reason.
The prosecution pointed out that Morrisette had testified in the lower court that Massaquoi had gone to Liberia to the RUF house to meet with Charles Taylor and to exchange diamonds to arms. The witness replied that this was very possible. He had become aware of such possible activity through the information obtained in the course of the Special Court’s investigations.
Morrisette further testified that the decision to not call Massaquoi as a witness in the RUF or Charles Taylor trials was taken by the prosecutor, not by the investigators. He could not recall ever finding out why. He had been to the airport to receive Sam Bockarie’s body, the pathologist had to re-identify the body. It had been identified once before sending it to Sierra Leone. Morrisette went to the airport because his manager had sent him over to “make sure that everything was done properly.” Morrisette was not aware what Alan White thought of Massaquoi or his background. The OTP wanted to speak with him because he had a lot of information about the RUF, the arms trade and other subjects, they wanted to have him as an insider witness. Morrisette confirmed that he discussed Massaquoi’s background with Alan White, he knew that he thought he would be important for the case, but he didn’t know what else he thought of him. The witness repeated that everything could be checked in the archives.
The witness explained that the interviews conducted in Liberia included people from all walks of life. He repeated that everything could be checked in the archives. They wanted to speak with anyone who had any knowledge about what they were investigating. Morrisette confirmed that the names Angel Gabriel or Angel came up in the interviews as being used for Gibril Massaquoi. Morrisette testified that he does not know a person called Michael Bona.
Morrisette repeated that he was not aware of Massaquoi committing crimes in Liberia.
When they conducted interviews in Liberia, they had a mandate to investigate the RUF’s activities in the country. The prosecution pointed out that Morrisette had testified in the lower court that they did not have such a mandate, which the witness denied. The defense pointed out that Morrisette had told the Finnish police that the fact that Gibril Massaquoi would have fought in Liberia between 1999 and 2003 did not come up during the investigation and that not a single witness had mentioned Massaquoi. Morrisette could not remember whether he had told the Finnish police so.
