Michel Desaedeleer

Michel Desaedeleer

Michel Desaedeleer, a US and Belgian citizen, was arrested in August 2015 in Malaga, Spain, following the issuance of a European arrest warrant by federal judges in Brussels, Belgium. At the time, Mr Desaedeleer resided in the United States. Subsequently, he was transferred to Brussels, and charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mr Desaedeleer  was accused of participating in the trade of so-called “blood diamonds” in Freetown, Sierra Leone, with Charles Taylor and the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

The arrest was the result of a criminal complaint filed in Brussels in January 2011 by several citizens of Sierra Leone, who were victims of enslavement during the Civil War. They were represented by the Belgian lawyer Luc Walleyn.

Mr Desaedeleer passed away on September 28, 2016, while in Belgian custody a few months before his trial was scheduled to begin.

Civitas Maxima and the Center for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL) in Freetown worked in partnership and collaborated directly with Luc Walleyn on this case. For several years, both Civitas Maxima and CARL documented the experiences of individuals who were exploited by the RUF in the diamond pits of Kono in the Eastern Part of Sierra Leone. These individuals were subjected to conditions of slavery as part of the trade of blood diamonds.