Laye Sekou Camara, aka “K-1”, sentenced to almost 5 years in prison for immigration fraud in the United States
(Geneva and Monrovia, 12 September 2025) – Laye Sekou Camara, high-ranking member of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) has been sentenced on 11 September 2025 to 57 months in prison, 3 years of supervised release and assessed a $400 special fee by the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in the United States. On 16 January 2025, he plead guilty to four counts of immigration fraud.
Camara, also known by his noms de guerre “General K-1” and “General Dragon Master,” took part in numerous atrocities during Liberia’s second civil war. During a pre-sentencing hearing earlier this year, nine witnesses from Liberia testified in-person to his brutality. They described how he travelled through villages arresting men, women, and children. Those who refused to join LURD were killed. Camara has denied, through his attorney, the allegations that he committed any war crimes, most recently claiming he was a low-level translator who “held no rank” in LURD and never hurt anyone. He nonetheless plead guilty to lying about his role in the LURD rebel faction when applying for a visa to enter the US, and later in obtaining a residency card.
During yesterday’s hearing, the judge explicitly stated that he considered the testimonies of the survivors in this case to be “highly credible”, and that the defendant had concealed from immigration authorities acts of horrific violence and brutality committed during the war. He also noted that Sekou Camara was not being tried for war crimes before his tribunal but for immigration-related offences.
Camara, who appeared in court as a free man, was placed in custody at the end of the hearing.
Immigration fraud, an alternative avenue to accountability
In the U.S., an immigrant cannot obtain lawful residence if they fall into any one of several categories of “inadmissible” persons. One such category, known as the persecutor bar, denies entry to those who have caused harm to others based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or membership in a political group. Providing false information in order to become eligible for immigration status or citizenship is a criminal offense.
Camara was not charged with war crimes, but the court heard considerable evidence of these crimes and examined the nature of his individual actions in the context of the second civil war in Liberia. Prosecutions for immigration fraud therefore provide an important alternative pathway to accountability where the legislation dealing with the commission of war crimes fails.
A victory for and testament to the victims of Liberia’s civil wars
Camara’s sentence is long awaited. Arrested in March 2022, he was due to stand trial on 21 January 2025. On 16 January, he plead guilty to all four counts in the indictment, which waived his right to a trial by jury. His sentencing was initially scheduled to take place in May but was delayed until 11 September. During this sentencing hearing, Camara himself took the stand, speaking mostly about the first Liberian civil war but denying having committed any crimes in Liberia. He also presented several witnesses on his behalf; the U.S. prosecutors did not present any.
Hassan Bility, Director of the Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP), said yesterday from Monrovia: “Today is a red-letter day for all the victims of the Liberian Civil Wars. For a long time, Liberians have been denied justice in the name of letting “bygones be bygones”. But that’s in the past now. With this verdict, the souls of those who were slaughtered in containers, while searching food to eat, as the second Liberian Civil war raged on, will now get some rest and be at peace. This justice is for all victims of Liberia’s two bush and banditry wars that were unjustifiably imposed on Liberians. This victory is for Liberia.”
In a context of total impunity in Liberia, Camara’s conviction and sentence are indeed a testament to the bravery of the witnesses who came from Liberia to testify. Despite efforts to keep his actions out of the public record, his case serves as an important milestone for accountability for the crimes committed in Liberia’s civil wars.
It is imperative that the Liberian Government continue to build on the momentum of cases being prosecuted overseas by equipping and resourcing the Office of the War Crimes and Economic Court to allow for meaningful justice to be brought inside Liberia.
Contact information
Isabelle Tallec, Communications Manager
comms@civitas-maxima.org
+33 6 42 14 70 68
