March 7, 2023 [Liberia] Day 26: Lives lost in Lofa
Civilian 70
Prosecution questions the witness
The testimony began as the witness discussed that he had been living in Monrovia when the war broke out in 1990, and therefore he had returned to Lofa, where he is originally from. However, war broke out in the entire region of Lofa around 1999, as LURD rebels fought against Charles Taylor’s troops. Government troops took both him and his wife from their village to Kamatahun, around 2001. There was plenty of people that were taken from their villages, and there were also soldiers from Sierra Leone – he remembered a few names, like Sam Bockarie, Mosquito, Superman, Issa, Massalay, Gabriel Massaquoi. He also remembered there was ZigZag Marzah, Z man, and Stanley.
Civilian 70 stated that soldiers could do whatever they wanted to the civilians. The witness said that when he was taken by the soldiers, he was wounded, his wife was killed, and that his auntie was burned in a house. When the prosecution asked, Civilian 70 shared that he had been present when his auntie was burned. They had been talking when soldiers told them to go inside a house. He had seen Superman and Angel Gabriel, who, according to him, was called Gabriel Massaquoi, and was a high-ranking commander. The witness said that Angel Gabriel gave the order to put the house on fire and said “you burn all of those dogs” – the witness stated that the house they were burning was the same as the one where his auntie was. He reiterated that Angel Gabriel was the same person as Gabriel Massaquoi.
The witness testified that his wife, among other women, was raped in a kitchen in Kamatahun. The incident took place before the house was burned. Seven women, including the Civilian 70’s wife, were taken to a blacksmith’s place, were raped, and then killed. The witness did not see his wife being brought there, but he was told by other villagers. As soon as he discovered it, he went there himself, and saw his wife and other women in the house. He went there to talk to his wife, but he was beaten up and wounded. He explained that the blacksmith’s house wasn’t really a “house” but more of an open place. The women had been raped all night, and then killed in the morning. He saw his wife’s body, and the other women too. Civilian 70 stated that he had heard Angel Gabriel giving the order to rape the women; he had invited the soldiers to help themselves to the women. The witness saw him at the blacksmith’s house, and whilst he did not partake in the raping himself, he had given the order.
Civilian 70 mentioned that he has also witnessed a man being accused to be a LURD rebel and murdered by Angel Gabriel. He had shot the man and told him “tell God I Angel Gabriel sent you.” The witness does not know what happened to the body. He then described to the prosecution where in Kamatahun the blacksmith house and the house that burned were.
He recalled talking to the police about the incident in 2020. He had learned on BBC and CNN that Gabriel Massaquoi had been arrested – he had not seen his picture, but that his fighting name was Angel Gabriel.
Defense questions the witness
The witness explained that he had met Employee 1 in a tea shop in Gbarnga, which is where Civilian 70 works. He had not been interested in what he had to say. The defense pointed out that Civilian 70 had told the police he had met Employee 1 in Monrovia. The witness responded that he was sure he had met him in Gbarnga. They had been talking about Zigzag Marzah and then Employee 1 told him he was going to call him, but only did so when the “white people came.” Employee 1 had told him that white people were interested in learning about what happened in Lofa, and if the witness had been interested in talking with them. According to the police report however, the witness had said that Employee 1 had called him after the meeting at the tea shop and the witness had been confused about how he got his number, but the witness denied ever being asked how Employee 1 had got his number, nor if he had called him.
Regarding the soldiers’ names he had mentioned before, like Superman, Bockarie, Stanley, and Massaquoi, he had not found out the soldiers’ names in Kamatahun, as “who are civilians to ask soldiers for their names.” He shared that only the Sierra Leoneans were based in Kamatahun, but that the others used to come and go – sometimes with an interval of a few months between visits.
Asked by the defense, Civilian 70 recounted that Zigzag used to eat human hearts – they had accused a man of being a LURD rebel so they killed him, took his heart, and gave it to a lady to cook it. She couldn’t do it, as her hands were shaking. The witness did not know who had given the order to kill the man, but it had been Zigzag who had done the butchering. Civilian 70 added that maybe it had been Angel Gabriel that gave the order, as he had been the highest commander there.
Going back to the testimony of the burning of the house, the witness specified that it happened at night. There is still no electricity there, so there were no lights to illuminate the streets, but he had been close enough to see the people being put in the house. The defense stated that during the first instance proceedings the witness had said that he had been further away and did not go where the soldiers had been gathering people – the witness explained that he had not gave a specific measurement of how far he was, and he had not been there where they were gathering people, but close enough so he could hear and see.
The defense asked who in the specific was that had set the house on fire and the witness responded that he did not know who it had been, but he knew that Angel Gabriel gave the order and had said “burn those dogs.” He added that Zigzag was there, but most of the soldier present were from Sierra Leone.
Civilian 70 reiterated that he had not been present when they took his wife, but he had been told, so he went to look for her in the blacksmith’s house. Her and the other women were all sitting on the ground, wearing their clothes. At night, Angel Gabriel gave the order to the soldiers to do whatever they wanted with the women. He got beaten as he made “myself known to the man that his was my woman, I was lucky they did not kill me.” The defense then read the police summary to the witness, where he had said that Angel Gabriel ordered the women to strip and spread their legs, as they were being tied. Civilian 70 answered that he had heard a lot about that event, but what he discussed in the Appeals Court is what he saw himself. The defense continued to read the police report, where it then said that when the witness was beaten, he had been tied – the witness responded that he did not remember being tied, but he could not remember everything. The defense added that the women were then raped all night, and then someone had seen the witness tied and had freed him in the morning. Civilian 70 explained again that he did not remember being tied, and that someone had helped him, but he cannot remember.
After he left Kamatahun, the witness went back to his hometown, where he stayed until Charles Taylor left Liberia, about 2-3 years. When asked if he had been to a refugee camp, the witness said he could not remember. The defense pointed out that during the lower court hearings Civilian 70 had said that he had gone to Vahun in hiding, and then he had been a refugee camp in Sierra Leone. The witness responded that he used to go to Vahun for work, but he could not remember going to Sierra Leone, nor he could remember the additional details, like an NGO taking him to Bo Waterside for treatment.
Civilian 70 specified that Angel Gabriel used to go back and from Kamatahun, but he could not remember for how long, as he only spent some months there, around 3 or 4. He couldn’t really specify what language Angel Gabriel spoke but said that some of the soldier spoke Creole, Mende, and Timini.
Going back to Zigzag Marzah killing the man accused of being a LURD spy, the witness said he had seen the heart himself, and that Angel Gabriel had given the order.
Civilian 35
Prosecution questions the witness
The witness begun his testimony by sharing that he was from Kolahun, in Lofa. When the war begun in 1989, he had been residing in Monrovia, but he had been in Kolahun between 2001 and 2003, when LURD was fighting government troops.
He testified that there had been a lot of torture and atrocities perpetrated against civilians, and he himself had been tortured. Around 2001/2002, he and others had been captured by LURD troops and taken to Massabolahun – once there, there had been a fight between LURD and government troops, and him and the others were then taken by the latter in yet another place, Kamatahun Hassala. There, he saw Benjamin Yeaten with Sierra Leonean troops, which he recognized because of their way of speaking. Civilian 35 was tortured in Kamatahun, where Angel Gabriel, also known as Gibril Massaquoi, accused him of being a rebel from Guinea and ordered his soldiers, in Creole, to tie him tabey. He had heard himself Angel Gabriel giving this order to the troops, and the witness added that he wanted to kill him. Civilian 35 also added that he had been tortured with melting plastic on his skin to make him talk, again, ordered by Gibril Massaquoi.
The witness shared that once some RUF soldiers found a man in the bush and brough him to Kamatahun, killed him, took his heart out, and ordered a woman to cook it under the orders of Gibril Massaquoi. He also saw a house being put on fire. Civilian 35 also saw a pregnant woman being opened as soldiers had a bet on the child’s sex. A friend of the witness told him they had to leave before they also got killed, and that is how he escaped.
The prosecution asked the witness if he still bore scars of the torture he went through, and the witness answered in the affirmative, as he said one of the soldiers that assaulted him also had a knife. He also used to have marks of the melted plastic, but those had faded away with time.
Going back to the man who had been killed and whose heart had been ripped out, the witness specified that Gibril Massaquoi had been responsible as he had authorized all of the atrocities committed in Kamatahun, including the burning of the house: “everything was attributed [to him], he influenced it, he commissioned it.” He answered that he had been present when Massaquoi had given these orders. The witness had been in Kamatahun for 5 days, and throughout these days he saw Gibril Massaquoi every day. He had learned that he was using the names of Angel Gabriel and Gibril Massaquoi from the man himself. Benjamin Yeaten had to leave and left command to Angel Gabriel, and he had introduced himself to the troops.
The witness also shared that he had been forced to carry ammunitions on his head, on order of Angel Gabriel. Civilian 35 had carried two boxes of ammunition and one gun to carry.
Civilian 35 described in detail the torture he was submitted to and reiterated that whilst the torture was carried out by soldiers, it had been Angel Gabriel who gave the order. He also stated that he had heard Gibril Massaquoi gave the order to burn the house with the people in it, on the left entering Vahun. He then specified that the man who had been accused of being a spy and who had been murdered and whose heart had been ripped out was killed by Angel Gabriel, and that the witness saw this himself.
The defense questions the witness
The witness explained to the defense that Massaquoi spoke as the troops’ commander, not as the RUF’s spokesperson, but the defense pointed out that earlier in the testimony he had said that Massaquoi was RUF’s spokesperson. He then said that Benjamin Yeaten had introduced Gibril Massaquoi to the troops, as he had to leave, and that Massaquoi was going to take over. He could not recall exactly when this has happened, between 2001 and 2002. The events in Kamatahun took place between 2001 and 2002, but according to the witness, Gibril Massaquoi was not in Liberia in 2003, but the LURD still fought in Lofa until 2003: he had not seen Massaquoi in Lofa in 2003, but he could clearly remember him in 2001-2002. The defense read the police report, where Civilian 35 had said that the incidents in Kamatahun happened in 2002 and 2003: the witness said that it must have been a mistake.
The defense continued reading the police report, where the witness had said that he had never lived in Kolahun, and that he left Monrovia to go back to his family once he graduated from university, and once he met his family, rebels attacked. He ran away to Massabolahun, but another group took him to Vahun in 2002, where he was forced to carry weapons. The witness said that indeed he never lived in Kolahun, he had gone there on vacation to see his family, and he saw all of those atrocities between 2001 and 2002. Civilian 35 had said to the police that he remembered the atrocities being committed in 2002, which is when he graduated. Civilian 35 stated that he had not graduated in 2002, but that the war happened in 2001, and that the incursions happened in 2002, mainly in Lofa County: this is why he gave the 2001-2002 timeline for Massaquoi being there and what he experienced.
Asked about his own experiences, the witness explained that when LURD attacked Kolahun, and he had escaped in Massabolahun, where had then been captured, LURD was not present there. RUF then arrived, and LURD retreated, but when they came back, they arrested everyone. Civilian 35 explained that he was a young man at the time, so everyone just assumed he was a rebel, and Charles Taylor had stated that “no ants should live in Lofa” – meaning that no matter which rebels, the troops had to get rid of them. And this is how he got to meet Gibril Massaquoi – not that he had met in in 2001, just that this was the situation in Lofa. The witness experienced LURD forces attacking twice.
On the reason why he had not told the police about the melted plastic torture, the witness said that “I said when you are under duress you experience so many things, right? But only when you have overcome that identical stress that you mind start reflecting on this that were happening at the time. I didn’t explain to police, the reason was like my mind didn’t go there.”
The defense went back to the police notes again, and whilst the witness had shared some torture, he had not disclosed to the court how Gibril Massaquoi, according to the witness, had urinated in his mouth. The witness said that yes, he had done this to him, but the reason why he didn’t share it this time is that his mind was not a computer, and he did not remember.
On the matter of the capture of the man in the bush who then got murdered, and whose heart was taken out, the defense asked why he only spoke about one man, when he had discussed two with the Finnish police. The witness said he only remembers one man being killed.
On the matter of the house being burned down, the defense told Civilian 35 that he had said to the police that whilst Gibril Massaquoi was there, Zigzag Marzah was “active”, and that the witness described the actions of Zigzag, not of Massaquoi, so why was he now saying that it had been Gibril Massaquoi giving the order? Civilian 35 said there must have been a miscommunication, either with the police, or with the translator. Gibril Massaquoi was the person who ordered the burning of the house, but Zigzag was the one who executed the order. The defense said that in the lower court, the witness had said that he had heard about the house burning down, but Civilian 35 denied it. He said that the police had asked him “do you know Zigzag” and he had responded in the affirmative, saying he had heard about him during the war. And that no, the burning of the house had not been a rumour because he had risked his life.
The defense asked which version of the events was true: to the police, Civilian 35 had said that Zigzag had burned the people, and to the lower court he had said that he had not been present. The witness said that Zigzag had carried the order and that Massaquoi was there, and this is what he had experienced. The defense retorted that when he was asked when Zigzag had burned the house down, the witness had said he had not been there, and that it had been people who told him about it. The witness responded asking why he would say he wasn’t there, when he had been, and he reiterated that Zigzag had committed a lot of atrocities, but that Massaquoi had been in Kamatahun and Hassala.
After the witness escaped, he had gone to Sierra Leone – but he could not say for how long. He had then gone back to Monrovia. The defense pointed out that Civilian 35 had said that after he escaped, he had gone to Foya, and then to Guinea, where he began looking for work. The witness responded: “What I’m I going to do in Guinea?” and that he had gone to Sierra Leone as it was easier to go back to Monrovia.
When asked, the witness shared that RUF wore yellow t-shirts.
When asked how the police had gotten in contact with him, Civilian 35 explained that once day he had received a call from Employee 1, asking him if he knew what had happened during the war, and that people wanted to talk to him. He had issues leaving work, but at the end he agreed to go to Monrovia and speak to the Finnish police. The defense asked if Employee 1 had promised financial compensation for this, and the witness said no, but he asked if his transport was being covered by them.
According to the defense, the witness had been under the impression that he was going to receive a scholarship if he had gone to Monrovia. Civilian 35 said that there had been a misunderstanding: he had asked for it, but Employee 1 had told him he was not going to get one.