• About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Thursday, March 23, 2023
  • Login
The Vaultz News
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2DNew
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships
No Result
View All Result
The Vaultz News
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2DNew
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships
No Result
View All Result
The Vaultz News
No Result
View All Result

From a Church to a Slaughterhouse: Ex Army Official Found Guilty Of Liberia Church Massacre

September 21, 2021
Stephen M.CbyStephen M.C
in Africa
0
From a Church to a Slaughterhouse: Ex Army Official Found Guilty Of Liberia Church Massacre

Moses Thomas, a former general with the Armed Forces of Liberia has been found guilty of the killing of an estimated 600 civilians in the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Massacre more than three decades ago, a court in Philadelphia, in the U.S. has ruled.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found Thomas—who headed the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SATU), ordered and directed the killing of people predominantly of the Gio and Mano tribes on July 29, 1990. The court said he is liable for war crimes, crimes against humanity under the US Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) and the Alien Tort Act (ATC). Meanwhile, the massacres was the single worst atrocity in the Liberian Civil War and sparked out a string of retaliatory murders across 14 years (1989 -2003).

Petrese B. Tucker, the U.S. District Judge who heard Thomas’ case wrote in her ruling that Thomas is liable for the massacre.

RelatedPosts

Uganda: Anti-LGBTQ Bill Is A Deeply Troubling Development- UN Rights Chief

Ethiopian Parliament Removes Tigray Peoples Liberation Front From Terror List

Development Expert Warns Rising Poverty, Inequalities threaten SDGs in Africa

“He is directly liable for the wrongful acts during the massacre. He intentionally directed an attack on a building dedicated to religion, personally directed an attack on civilians and committed the crime against humanity of persecution.”

Petrese B. Tucker

Meanwhile, four Liberians, known by the court as Jane W, John X, John Y, and John Z for fear of reprisal in Liberia, filed a civil lawsuit against Thomas, 67. The court will now determine how much damage payment the victims will receive from Thomas, who fled the U.S. for Liberia last year.

Moreover, Nushin Sarkarati, senior staff attorney at the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA), one of the two human rights organizations that represented the four victims, noted that the judgment is a key step towards achieving justice not only for his clients but also for other survivors and victims of Liberia’s civil wars. He also averred that the court’s decision establishes the historical record for the Lutheran Church Massacre.

Sarkarati observed that Thomas is the person to be held responsible for the massacre and is the only former member of the Liberian army to be found guilty of an offense associated with the country’s bloody civil war, which killed some 250,000 people and displaced one million homes and abroad.

However, Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 2009 posthumously recommended late President Samuel Doe to face prosecution over the killing and other crimes alongside other former soldiers. But more than a decade on, that is yet to happen.

“The court recognized that the survivors have been forced to file their suit in the United States because the Liberian government has taken no action to see meaningful accountability for civil-war-era violations,” said, Elizabeth Nielsen, counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, the other group that represented the victims.

Furthermore, Hassan Bility, whose group Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP) assisted in prosecuting Thomas said, “The Liberian government must also investigate and prosecute Thomas for this crime, and any others. Until there is domestic accountability in Liberia, survivors and victims cannot live in peace.”

The plaintiffs’ lawyers had filed for the summary judgment in the case following Thomas’ departure from the U.S. Under U.S. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure, complainants can file a summary motion for a judge to decide a case based on the evidence they provide as long as the defendant in the case does not dispute the evidence.

However, Thomas had requested the court to dismiss the case in 2018 when it was first filed, arguing it could not be heard under the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 as the massacre had passed the 10-year statute of limitation. However, the court ruled that the victims could not file the case in Liberia as the country had not tried anyone over the war. It said the victims feared retaliation from former soldiers, and that the Liberian judicial system was not willing to prosecute such cases. The court used similar procedure to try the case under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). TVPA and ATS allow federal courts to try foreign nationals for extrajudicial killings allegedly committed on foreign soil, and ones that violate international laws, respectively.

After he fled to Liberia and the victims’ lawyers filed for a summary judgment, his legal team argued that the case was based on hearsay and the claims of the plaintiffs were inconsistent. But the court squashed that argument, saying his accusers’ accusations withstood the “farrago of hearsay and inconsistency.”

It can be recalled that by July 1990, most of the country was controlled by rebels, except Monrovia by the army loyal to late President Doe. The soldiers hunted Gios and Manos, who they accused of being collaborators of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), led by future President Charles Taylor.

READ ALSO: Algeria buries ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in a muted funeral

Tags: Church MassacreliberiaMoses Thomas

Related Posts

Uganda: Anti-LGBTQ Bill Is A Deeply Troubling Development- UN Rights Chief
Africa

Uganda: Anti-LGBTQ Bill Is A Deeply Troubling Development- UN Rights Chief

March 22, 2023
Ethiopian Parliament Removes Tigray Peoples Liberation Front From Terror List
Africa

Ethiopian Parliament Removes Tigray Peoples Liberation Front From Terror List

March 22, 2023
Development Expert Warns Rising Poverty, Inequalities threaten SDGs in Africa
Africa

Development Expert Warns Rising Poverty, Inequalities threaten SDGs in Africa

March 21, 2023
Nigeria Gubernatorial Elections: 24 States Declared, Others Inconclusive Or Suspended
Africa

Nigeria Gubernatorial Elections: 24 States Declared, Others Inconclusive Or Suspended

March 21, 2023
Bank Crisis, Sticky Inflation To Spur Rate Hikes In Africa’s Biggest Economies
Africa

Bank Crisis, Sticky Inflation To Spur Rate Hikes In Africa’s Biggest Economies

March 20, 2023
IMF Staff Finalizes Côte d’Ivoire Mission Under the Extended Fund Facility
Africa

IMF Staff Finalizes Côte d’Ivoire Mission Under the Extended Fund Facility 

March 20, 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Post

$1 billion needed to deliver food security for Africa – Akinwumi A. Adesina

Next Post

Ghana: Climate crisis to increase vulnerabilities to trafficking and slavery, report reveals

Sign up for The Vaultz analytic wire

Get weekly news analysis from top editors at The Vaultz and stay informed on trending economic and business issues from across the globe.
NDC Polls: Mahama To Submit Nomination Form Today
General News

Don’t Describe Journalists As Terrorists- Mahama

by Sam SamMarch 23, 2023
MoF Justifies Its New Proposed Taxes: Says, It Will Shore Up Domestic Revenues And Boost Ghana’s Fiscal Position
Economics

MoF Justifies Its New Proposed Taxes: Says, It Will Shore Up Domestic Revenues And Boost Ghana’s Fiscal Position

by Priscilla Dziedzorm FiakpornuMarch 23, 2023
The future looks good for Ghanaian indigenous businesses- Mahama
General News

Mahama Calls For Engagement On National Anti-Corruption Action Plan

by Angeller AshongMarch 23, 2023
IEAG Rejects Proposed Income Tax Amendment Bill And Excise Duty Tax
Vaultz Business

IEAG Rejects Proposed Income Tax Amendment Bill And Excise Duty Tax

by Gifty BansahMarch 22, 2023
SIC Regional Manager Calls on Women to Embrace Insurance and Sign unto SIC Insurance
Insurance

SIC Regional Manager Calls on Women to Embrace Insurance and Sign unto SIC Insurance

by Stephen M.CMarch 22, 2023
MP Criticizes Council Of State For Endorsing Appointment Of Politically Exposed To The EC
General News

You Can Do A Good Thing At The Wrong Time- Political Analyst

by Sam SamMarch 22, 2023
NDC Polls: Mahama To Submit Nomination Form Today
MoF Justifies Its New Proposed Taxes: Says, It Will Shore Up Domestic Revenues And Boost Ghana’s Fiscal Position
The future looks good for Ghanaian indigenous businesses- Mahama
IEAG Rejects Proposed Income Tax Amendment Bill And Excise Duty Tax
SIC Regional Manager Calls on Women to Embrace Insurance and Sign unto SIC Insurance
MP Criticizes Council Of State For Endorsing Appointment Of Politically Exposed To The EC
Snow
FIND OUT MORE

The Vaultz News

Copyright © 2021 The Vaultz News. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2D
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships

Copyright © 2021 The Vaultz News. All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In