–H/Rights, War Crimes Court Groups Claim
–But War Crimes Court Office Swiftly Reacts
The Coalition for the Establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia and the human rights community say they are deeply troubled by President Joseph N. Boakai’s appointment of Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi as head of the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court to facilitate efforts on the creation of the court, which will prosecute alleged perpetrators of war and economic crimes and bring justice to victims and survivors of the civil wars.
The war crimes court advocates’ concern comes in the wake of information gathered from several impeccable sources that Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi served as a lawyer for Agnes Reeves Taylor, wife of ex-President Charles G. Taylor, in a UK court for alleged war crimes. Her husband, Taylor, is serving a 50-year jail term in the UK for crimes committed in Sierra Leone.
According to a release issued June 22, 2024, the human rights community and war crimes advocates said they further gathered that Cllr. Massaquoi, while representing Agnes Reeves Taylor, instituted multiple lawsuits against human rights defenders, institutions and people who had been genuinely fighting for the establishment of the war crimes court for so many years.
“Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi is also said to have represented another war crimes indictee, Sierra Leonean national Gibril Massaquoi, being prosecuted by Finnish authorities for crimes committed during the Liberian civil war, leaving behind hundreds of victims as a result of his alleged brutal civil war atrocities in Lofa County,” the release observed.
The war crimes court campaigners raised the concern on ground that a man who represents the interest of alleged perpetrators of gross human rights violations and war crimes cannot represent the interest of the victims in the same jurisdiction.
They also expressed concerns over what they described as “rushed endorsement” of Cllr. Massaquoi’s appointment by US Congressman Chris Smith without conducting investigation leading to the allegations surrounding the individuals whose cases were presented at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearings on Liberia by some witnesses during the June 13, 2024 hearing in Washington, D.C.
“We wish to state that, while Liberia seeks further US government support to end the culture of impunity, the coalition believes that Congressman Chris Smith’s neutrality will further support accountability and promote the rule of law,” the release stated.
The coalition and human rights community further expressed concerns that, given the sensitive nature regarding decisions to implement TRC recommendations, the civil society, being considered in the TRC Act of 2004 as moral guarantors with responsibility to monitor and campaign for the full implementation of the report, was not consulted by the government, especially President Boakai, on such a crucial decision in the interest of the victims, survivors and the Liberian people, knowing very well that during the negotiation of the 2003 Accra Peace Accord civil society was greatly involved and influential in sustaining the peace enjoyed today.
They emphasized that the TRC report is not a political report or document for which decisions around it are only decided by politicians, especially the establishment of the war and economic crimes court for Liberia. They called the international community, the United Nations and regional bodies who supported Liberia’s peace process, to engage the Government of Liberia (GOL) on these matters now to act in the right direction.
According to them, Cllr. Massaquoi’s appointment comes with deep controversy; as such, the President should rescind his appointment and call for a stakeholder dialogue to show his openness and good intentions going forward in the interest of truth, justice and national healing. “This can’t be business as usual,” they intoned.
However, the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia, headed by Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi, has sharply reacted to the claim and stated unequivocally that its Executive Director, Cllr. Jonathan T. Massaquoi, is not conflicted by any stretch of imagination and has demonstrated over his fifteen years of legal practice to not only be outstanding, but very ethical and professional, without appearing before any grievance and ethics committee. “Cllr. Massaquoi has served as amicus curia (friend of the Court) to the Supreme Court of Liberia on cases involving ethical transgression, and is committed and ever-resolved to lead a team of professionals poised in making sure that the mandate of said Office is achieved, and will not waste valuable time in the future responding to such diatribe,” the release, signed by the Secretariat of the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia, stated.
“The Office of The War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia welcomes U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the House Global Human Rights Subcommittee kind words on acknowledging President Boakia’s timely appointment of Cllr. Jonathan T. Massaquoi as the Executive Director. We can assure our partners both locally and internationally that the people of Liberia, who suffered brutal human rights violations and economic crimes for many years, shall get the justice they so deserve. The Office remains open to engaging with civil society organizations that are sincerely and genuinely involved in the advocacy of accountability and the rule of law in Liberia,” the release stated.
According to the release, “To accept the faulty logic of these very few individuals and select groups of civil society organizations that by Cllr. Massaquoi’s representation of the legal interest of persons allegedly accused of war crimes in Liberia makes him unqualified and compromised to serve as Executive Director of the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court could equally mean that the Chief Prosecutor of the International Crime Court, Mr. Karim Ahmad Khan, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson are equally unqualified to occupy their current office—what a lazy and poor school of reasoning! On the contrary, these lawyers were performing their duties as defense attorneys. Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, during her confirmation on March 21, 2022, responding to this very question stated, “Under the ethics rules that apply to lawyers, an attorney (lawyer) has a duty to represent her client’s interest, refraining from contradicting her client’s legal arguments and/or undermining her client’s interest by publicly declaring the lawyer’s own personal disagreement with the legal position, or alleged behavior of her client.”