-
Can you state your name, please, sir?
-
Alpha Jalloh.
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I note that's spelt correctly on the record. Mr Jalloh, do you know the date of your birth?
-
Yes, sir.
-
When were you born?
-
1973.
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Do you know the full date or just the year?
-
The year. Just the year.
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Mr Witness, it seems you are not waiting for the interpretation. Can you please wait for the Krio interpretation before you answer the question.
-
Okay.
-
Sir, whereabouts were you born?
-
Freetown.
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Do you belong to any particular tribe?
-
I'm a Fullah.
-
Sir, have you had any formal education?
-
Yes, I went to school.
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To what year did you go to school?
-
I stopped at Class 6.
-
What languages do you speak?
-
I can speak Krio, Fullah and Temne.
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Your Honours, can the witness be kindly told to speak up.
-
Mr Witness, everything you say is being interpreted and is being written down. Therefore, the interpreters must hear you clearly. Please speak more loudly so they may hear you and we will have the microphone put a little closer to you.
-
Okay, no problem.
-
Sir, do you speak any English?
-
No, I cannot speak English.
-
Do you understand any English?
-
I can understand. When people speak English I can understand.
-
Can you read in English?
-
I can read.
-
Can you read in English?
-
Yes.
-
On 5 April 2005 did you testify in the case of the Prosecutor versus Brima, Kamara and Kanu?
-
Yes, yes.
-
And, sir, have you recently been shown a copy of the transcript and was that transcript read to you in a language that you understood?
-
Yes.
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I will just ask that this transcript be shown firstly to Mr Anyah. Thank you.
-
I don't understand what you mean.
-
Mr Witness, I'm just not addressing a question to you at the moment. Might the transcript now be shown to the witness, please. Sir, is that the transcript that you have recently been shown and that has recently been read to you in the language that you understood?
-
Yes.
-
And, sir, do you adopt that transcript as your previous testimony?
-
Yes.
-
Can I now have that document marked and for the record it bears Case Management Section pages 20679 to 20697. If I could have that marked for identification.
-
On a quick arithmetic calculation, is that 20 pages, Ms Baly?
-
My calculation is a bit less than that, 19 pages I think.
-
Okay. That is a transcript of evidence of the witness as adduced on 5 April 2005 in the case of the Prosecutor v Brima and others. It's pages 20679 to 20697 of the Court transcript and it becomes MFI-1.
-
Thank you:
-
Now, Mr Witness, on 11 May in the year 2007 did you make an additional statement?
-
Yes.
-
And has that statement also been recently shown to you and read to you in a language that you understood?
-
Yes.
-
Can this document firstly be shown to Mr Anyah. Thank you. Could it now be shown to the witness, please:
-
Mr Witness, if you look at that statement you will see that there is a typed version of the statement and a handwritten version of that statement. Can you go, please, to the last page of that bundle and you see there a typed - a handwritten page. At the end of that page can you see your signature on that page?
-
Yes.
-
That's your signature there beside the word "signature", is that so, sir?
-
Yes.
-
Thank you. Your Honour, can I have that document also marked for identification. It bears the CMS numbers 20699 to 20711. I should make it clear now that there are two pages in that bundle that we will be asking to have marked confidentially. It's the same situation as for the previous witness.
Now, having regard to the procedure adopted for the last witness, I'm happy to at this point, if your Honours think it's appropriate, to ask the witness certain questions about the personal information on those two pages or I can defer that until the time I come to tender the documents and at that point ask the witness questions or your Honours can indeed adopt the course you did with the previous witness.
-
It would be pertinent, Ms Baly, if there's an objection to the confidentiality, and I do not know the attitude of the Defence, so I would suggest that it be deferred until we seek a response.
-
As your Honour pleases.
PRESIDING JUDGE, therefore, this is a bundle of documents being partly handwritten and partly typed, a statement of the witness, being pages 20699 to 20711, becomes MFI-5. Please proceed, Ms Baly.
-
I have no further questions at this stage.
-
Thank you. Mr Anyah, I understand from your previous statement that you're dealing with this witness.
-
Yes, I am, Madam President.
-
Please proceed.
-
Good afternoon, Mr Jalloh.
-
Good afternoon, sir.
-
Mr Jalloh, you just told us you were born in the year 1973, correct?
-
Yes.
-
And that would make you about 26 years of age in January of 1999. Is that fair to say, Mr Jalloh?
-
26? Yes.
-
And January of 1999 was the year and the month when you sustained the injury to your left arm, yes?
-
Yes.
-
Mr Jalloh, it is important that you understand that by me asking you questions I am not in any way suggesting that you did not undergo immense suffering during the time period when you sustained your injury. Do you appreciate that, Mr Jalloh?
-
I understand.
-
We have also been given documents which suggest that you lost family members around the time when your arm was amputated, and again I just reiterate that by me asking you these questions I am not in any way trying to suggest that those losses you sustained did not actually happen. Do you appreciate that, Mr Jalloh?
-
Yes.
-
Now, Mr Jalloh, it is fair to say that the injury to your arm, I'm speaking of your left arm, occurred on 18 January 1999, yes?
-
That was the time they amputated my arm.
-
That was the date, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And on the day before, you and your family were in the vicinity of Kissy Road in Freetown, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And around that time, 17 January, ECOMOG was making an advance into Freetown, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And at some point you were in the company of your younger brother, yes?
-
Yes, I was with my younger brother and my cousin.
-
And you and your younger brother and your cousin moved to the vicinity of 130 Kissy Road in Freetown, yes?
-
Yes, that was how it happened.
-
And from that premises you watched as ECOMOG tried to make an advance into Freetown, true?
-
ECOMOG was advancing from the Eastern Police towards the Upgun area, but by then they had stopped at Savage Square and during that moment the rebels had reached the area where I was hiding and they took out the machine gun --
-
Your Honours, the last bit of the witness's answer did not come clearly to the interpreter.
-
Mr Witness, the interpreter did not hear all of your answer clearly. Please pick up and repeat from the point where you said, "they took out the machine gun." Continue from there, please.
-
When the ECOMOG advanced where we were hiding was - it was in front of that particular house that the rebels had mounted their machine gun. It was during that course that we decided to move to Manfred Lane.
-
Mr Witness, ECOMOG was not successful in its attempt to move from the eastern end or east end towards the Upgun area of Freetown on 17 January 1999, yes?
-
They did not succeed, then they retreated. They went back to the Eastern Police area.
-
And you and your younger brother and your cousin, you moved from the address on Kissy Road to, as you've said, Manfred Lane and that's M-A-N-F-R-E-D and you were at number 9 Manfred Lane, yes?
-
Yes, yes.
-
And by this time we are on 18 January 1999, true?
-
Yes.
-
And that was when the rebels knocked on the door and captured the three of you, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And it was later during that day that you sustained the injury that is visible to your left arm, yes?
-
Yes. That was the same day that they amputated me, my brother and my cousin.
-
Now, these rebels that you encountered from 17 through 18 January, that was not the first time in January 1999 that you had encountered them, correct?
-
That was not the first time.
-
Indeed, you had encounter them starting from 6 January thereabouts in 1999, yes?
-
Yes, we were within the area where the rebels were.
-
And starting from 6 January life started getting difficult. You had to move from the area where you were on Young Street and you went looking for your mother on Jenkins Street, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And at some point you lost track of your mother but you eventually found her, yes?
-
We went to Jenkins Street and my mother was not there and the following morning around 8 o'clock we went to Calaba Town. There we met my mother.
-
Now that area where you lived, first on Young Street which is near the Kissy Road area, the rebel commander in that area was somebody named Captain Blood, yes?
-
Yes.
-
At the time, you did not know that he was the rebel commander but later on you heard that he was the rebel commander, yes?
-
Exactly. That was how it happened.
-
And the particular rebel who amputated your arm was somebody called Tommy, yes?
-
Yes, that is it.
-
Tommy belonged to the same group to which Captain Blood belonged, yes?
-
Yes.
-
These rebels were actually soldiers that went into the bush and returned from the bush, yes?
-
Yes, most of them were soldiers.
-
And when you say they were soldiers, you knew them to be former members of the Sierra Leone Army, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And these were people that before January 1996 - January 1999 you had seen previously in the vicinity of Freetown, yes?
-
Yes. Before they went to the bush we were all in Freetown, so we knew most of them facially.
-
Yes. Now this fellow Tommy who amputated your arm, he spoke Krio, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And he was a Sierra Leonean, correct?
-
Yes.
-
Indeed, most of the rebels that you refer to in your statements spoke Krio, correct?
-
Some spoke Krio. Some spoke the Liberian language.
-
But would it be fair to say that most of them, I'm now trying to find out what the majority of them spoke, most of them, the majority of them, did in fact speak Krio?
-
Yes.
-
The rebels, some of them wore combat uniforms, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And most of them wore headbands that resembled the American flag, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And then some of them wore black T-shirts, true?
-
That was how it happened.
-
And in addition to the rebels there were also others who wore headbands, white headbands, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And the rebels had among their company civilians, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And both rebels and civilians would also wear white headbands, correct?
-
They all dressed the same way.
-
Are you saying that it was difficult to tell a rebel apart from a civilian?
-
Yes.
-
And are you saying that it is possible that both groups of persons wore white headbands?
-
Yes.
-
Now, how long had you lived in Freetown before the events of January 1999?
-
I have lived in Freetown for quite a long time.
-
Can you first of all give us an approximate number of years that you lived in Freetown before January 1999?
-
I was born and bred in Freetown, so I cannot tell you actually for how many years I have lived there. I have lived there for a very long time.
-
Is it fair to say that since your birth in 1973 through January 1999 you resided primarily in Freetown?
-
I have travelled to so many areas in the country.
-
But would you say that Freetown was your permanent base during this period of time?
-
Yes, during that time I was based in Freetown, but I used to travel upcountry and return.
-
Did you ever travel out of Sierra Leone before January 1999?
-
No.
-
You had never been to Liberia before January 1999?
-
No, I did not go there.
-
Have you gone to Liberia since January 1999?
-
I have not gone there.
-
You have never in your life been to Liberia, is that fair to say, Mr Witness?
-
I have never been to Liberia.
-
When you say some of the soldiers were speaking Liberian language, are you telling us that you recognised the manner in which they spoke to be Liberian?
-
Yes, because I have lived with Liberian people for quite a long time, so I know that there is a difference between the Liberian Krio and the Sierra Leonean Krio. No matter the way the Liberian man speaks, when the Sierra Leonean speaks the Sierra Leonean Krio you would know that there is a difference, so that was how I was able to discern.
-
So when you say they were speaking Liberian language you actually mean that they were speaking Krio with a Liberian accent, yes?
-
Yes.
-
You're not referring to a completely different language, you're referring to the same Krio, correct?
-
They speak Krio but there is a difference between the Liberian Krio and the Sierra Leonean Krio. I mean the Liberian English and the Sierra Leonean Krio.
-
But it is the same Krio we are talking about, it's just a difference in accents, is it?
-
Yes.
-
When you say you have lived with Liberians, who specifically have you lived with?
-
They were civilians. By then we were with them in Freetown and I also went to Kono, I lived there for some time and I knew them there. So it was since then that I was able to know the difference between the Liberian English and the Sierra Leonean Krio.
-
So it is fair to say from your response that there were Liberians residing in Freetown prior to January 1999, yes?
-
Yes, civilians were there who came from Liberia.
-
And some of those people had lived in Freetown for many, many years before January 1999, correct?
-
Yes.
-
And so in your everyday life, before the events of January 1999, you encountered Liberians as other residents in Freetown, yes?
-
Yes.
-
Mr Witness, some of those former SLA or Sierra Leone Army soldiers that you recognised were these Liberians we are speaking of, correct?
-
The Sierra Leone soldiers whom I knew facially, whose names I did not know, they were not Liberians.
-
But it is fair to say, is it not, that some amongst the number of soldiers you heard speaking Krio with a Liberian accent were Liberians?
-
Yes, because I have never met them before, save that time.
-
Mr Witness, have you ever heard of something called the Special Task Force?
-
Special Task Force? No, I do not know about that.
-
Have you ever heard of somebody called David Livingstone Bropleh?
-
No.
-
Have you ever heard somebody say STF?
-
No.
-
Are you aware of the fact that the Sierra Leone Army was made up of members of something called the Special Task Force in January 1999?
-
What do you mean by Special Task Force?
-
I mean a category of fighters in a particular unit that were of Liberian descent fighting as part of the Sierra Leone Army, are you aware of that?
-
Exactly.
-
What to do you mean "exactly", Mr Witness?
-
That was how it happened. I know about that. That was the reason why I said so.
-
Madam Court Officer, could you kindly exhibit for us Defence exhibit 26, please:
-
Mr Witness, the former President of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah gave testimony before the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he gave a statement, and that's what we are trying to display for you. It is dated Tuesday, 5 August 2003, and I just want to read a few paragraphs of that statement to you. Madam Court Officer, on the next page there should be a subheading "Special Task Force". Mr Witness, you told us you could read English a few minutes ago. Is that the case? Mr Witness?
-
Yes.
-
Would you prefer that I read it for you?
-
Yes, read.
-
Do you see the paragraph that is numbered 52 beneath the bold letters "Special Task Force"?
-
Yes.
-
Now this is President Kabbah speaking and he writes:
"Another group which I came to know about much later, as part of the security units utilised by the military, was the Special Task Force. I was never briefed about this when I assumed office as President in 1996. I knew about the existence of this unit only on the day of the AFRC coup d'etat, yet the army, without regard for the origin and true motive of the members of this group, had used them regularly and depended on them considerably."
You see President Kabbah referring to the word "origin" there? Did you hear me read that, Mr Witness?
-
I heard you.
-
Have you ever heard of the acronym ULIMO before, U-L-I-M-O, Mr Witness?
-
I heard about ULIMO soldiers before.
-
And do you know ULIMO soldiers to be --
-
I heard about them. I heard about them.
-
I understood your response, I'm just trying to ask you a follow-up question. Did you hear about ULIMO soldiers as being from Liberia, Mr Witness?
-
Yes.
-
Madam Court Officer, could we go to paragraph 58, the next page. It will be paragraph 58:
-
Mr Witness, this is again President Kabbah and I'll read it for you. In paragraph 58 it says:
"The NPRC inherited from the APC regime the problem of ULIMO, but it too never settled or attempted to settle it. All it did was to insist on the dropping of the 'J' and the 'K' from the names of the two factions and to collectively rename them Special Task Force. The Special Task Force was then almost incorporated into the Sierra Leone Army and they received salaries, allowances and their supplies were regularly replenished."
Mr Witness, do you remember the time of the APC - I'm sorry, the NPRC government in Sierra Leone?
-
Yes.
-
You have heard of the name Valentine Strasser before, yes?
-
Yes.
-
You have heard of the name Julius Maada Bio before, yes?
-
Yes.
-
That was the NPRC regime that took power in January of 1992 through March of 1996, yes?
-
Yes.
-
President Kabbah is saying to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that what was known as ULIMO was turned into the Special Task Force. Did you hear me read that, Mr Witness?
-
I heard you.
-
The ULIMO fighters that you heard of that were Liberians, you acknowledge that they joined the Sierra Leone Army, yes? Did you understand the question, Mr Witness?
-
I did not understand.
-
You have agreed that you've heard of ULIMO fighters, correct?
-
Yes.
-
You have agreed that you know them to have been or, rather, you have heard that they were from Liberia, yes?
-
Yes.
-
You have agreed that ULIMO fighters were present in Sierra Leone. Correct me if I'm wrong.
-
Yes.
-
Do you agree that some of the persons that you encountered speaking Liberian language, or speaking Krio with a Liberian accent in January of 1999, were ULIMO or former ULIMO fighters?
-
Well, I did not know whether they were ULIMO soldiers or not, but all I knew is that they were Liberian soldiers.
-
But those people, and the manner in which they spoke, suggested that they had been in Sierra Leone for some time. Would you agree with that?
-
Well, yes.
-
Because somebody, if he just came from Liberia, would probably not speak Krio, would probably speak something else, yes?
-
Yes.
-
So it is the case that part of these rebels that did this harm to you, to your younger brother and to your cousin, were soldiers who had been in Sierra Leone for a while, yes?
-
Yes.
-
Notwithstanding that they spoke with a Liberian accent, yes?
-
Yes.
-
Indeed, you have other groups of West Africans living in Sierra Leone, like Nigerians, yes?
-
Yes, yes. They were there as ECOMOG.
-
Yes. But aside from ECOMOG there were other West Africans that resided in Sierra Leone, like Nigerians, yes?
-
Yes, they were there.
-
You had people in Sierra Leone that spoke Hausa, a Nigerian language, when you grew up in Sierra Leone, yes?
-
Yes.
-
And you've also heard of the Hausa-Fulani, have you not?
-
Yes.
-
You yourself are a Fullah, but you're a Sierra Leonean Fullah, correct?
-
Yes.
-
And your brother West Africans, some of them are Hausa-Fulani from Nigeria, yes?
-
Yes.
-
So all these different ethnic groups were in Sierra Leone in January of 1999, correct?
-
Most of them were there.
-
Now, Madam Court Officer, I will read the last sentence in paragraph 58 and then I'll read paragraph 62 of President Kabbah's statement. The last sentence in paragraph 58 reads: "Brigadier David Livingstone Bropleh eventually became the new head of the Special Task Force."
Then paragraph 62:
"General Bropleh and his STF followers fled together with the AFRC junta personnel when the ECOMOG-led force removed the junta from Freetown in February 1998. Together they played an active role in all the attacks that displaced ECOMOG and government troops in such places at Koidu, Makeni, Kamakwie and Lunsar. They supported the 6 January 1999 attack of Freetown. On the recall of all military personnel in 2000 after the granting of the amnesty in the Lomé Peace Agreement 1999 the STF resurfaced with General Bropleh still at the helm of the force."
-
Mr Witness, President Kabbah is telling the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that this group, the STF, made up of former ULIMO fighters, participated in the 6 January 1999 invasion. Do you agree with that proposition, Mr Witness?
-
I would like you to go over that question again.
-
I will try and break it down. President Kabbah is speaking about former ULIMO fighters and he is saying that those former ULIMO fighters formed the group called the STF and that they were participants in the 6 January invasion of Freetown. Now, on the basis of what you experienced on the ground, would you agree with that proposition that persons who were former members of ULIMO participated in the 6 January 1999 invasion of Freetown?
-
Well, I did not understand that. All I knew was that rebels entered Freetown. I did not know which type of rebels. That is what I know, that rebels came into Freetown, but I did not know what type of people.
-
And some of them were persons who spoke with a Liberian accent that had been in Sierra Leone for a while, yes?
-
The rebels that I understood came were Sierra Leonean soldiers and Liberian rebels.
-
Okay, that's fair enough. Mr Witness, are you currently employed?
-
I'm not working.
-
When was the last time that you held a job?
-
I was doing petty business initially when I had not got this problem.
-
Since you got this problem have you been able to continue with your petty business?
-
No, because since then I have not been able to get money to continue with my business.
-
Since you testified in the former trial in Freetown on 5 April 2005, have you received money from the Special Court, Mr Witness?
-
No.
-
Nobody in the Special Court has ever given you money, is that your evidence, Mr Witness?
-
They never used to give me money when I testified.
-
Well, let me rephrase the question so perhaps it might be clearer. I'm not suggesting that they gave you money at the time you were testifying. I am asking you whether out of court, for one reason or another, somebody from the Special Court gave you money?
-
No.
-
Did the Special Court or any member of the Special Court, and I would include members of the Office of the Prosecutor, ever spend money for your medical care?
-
No.
-
Did they ever give you money for transportation when you would come to meet with them for interviews, Mr Witness?
-
They gave me transport fare.
-
Did you at any time go to the hospital for further medical treatment in respect of your arm, Mr Witness?
-
Yes.
-
When was that?
-
Well, at the time I went to testify they took me to the hospital and they gave me some treatment there.
-
And when you say "they" you're referring to members of the Special Court?
-
Yes.
-
Have they ever given you cash?
-
Money?
-
Yes.
-
To go to the hospital? No.
-
Not to go to the hospital, an allowance for any expenses you may have, but in cash?
-
At any time I paid my own transportation fare to go there on my return they would reimburse me.
-
But aside from transportation fares, Mr Witness, did they ever give you money for lost wages, money you could have earned had you been working but that you lost because you were with them?
-
Yes, they gave me money at the time I was with them, the time I was spending with them. Sometimes for two or three days when I was there with them, spending time with them, on my return they would give me some money for the times I spent with them.
-
Do you know how much you have received from the Special Court since you testified in the last trial on 5 April 2005?
-
No, I don't know.
-
Mr Witness, we have records that show how much has been spent on you because there is a section of the Court that keeps those records and I'll just give you the grand total figure that I have and ask you if it sounds about right. I have a figure of 2,707,000 leones. This is the total amount that --
-
That has been given to me?
-
No.
-
That has been spent on me?
-
Yes, that the Court says it has sent on you. Does that sound about right, Mr Witness?
-
Well, I wouldn't deny that because even in the case of the transportation for me to come here, if you put all of those monies together, and if they said they have spent up to that amount I would not deny that.
-
Now did they ever give you an allowance for attending court, cash allowance?
-
At the times I used to go to court, for the two or three days that I would go to court they would give me some allowance.
-
And can you give us an idea of the amount of money you were given in cash as allowance?
-
For each day I was there you mean?
-
Yes, the total amount of time you went to court, how much was given to you for your total attendance in court if you were to add all of them?
-
For clarification, Mr Anyah, when you say attendance in court, is this when he was giving evidence or giving evidence and visiting the Office of the Prosecutor?
-
Yes, I see the distinction. I will clarify:
-
Mr Witness, how much total - what is the total amount in cash that you've been given by the Special Court for any purpose?
-
That I wouldn't tell. I cannot actually tell the amount of money now, because if you look at it, the transportation and what they used to give me, I cannot actually check that now.
-
Madam Court Officer, may I have your assistance, please:
-
Mr Witness, there is a document displayed on the screen and that's a document from the Special Court's Witnesses and Victims Section, and it has a number there in the middle, TF1-098 and that is a number that those of us in court associate with you as being yourself, and do you see where it says "Witness attendance allowance: 1,232,000 leones". Do you see that, Mr Witness?
-
Yes, I see it.
-
That category is suggesting that you were given an allowance that amounts to that total. Do you agree with that figure, Mr Witness?
-
The allowances that they gave to me? Is that what you mean?
-
Yes, that is what I mean.
-
No, it's not up to that.
-
Would you agree with the category that says "medical", that they have spent about 564,000 leones on your health?
-
Well, I do not know how much money they paid at the hospitals. Even before we came here we went for medical examination to three different locations, but I don't know how much they paid because they did not give it to me directly to be paid.
-
Mr Witness, if you go on Siaka Stevens in the downtown of Freetown and you want to change US dollars into leones it would be fair to say, would it not, that one US dollar goes for about 3,000 leones, yes?
-
Yes.
-
Do you see the total figure there of 2,707,000 leones?
-
I have seen it.
-
If you divide that by 3,000 it adds up to about 902 United States dollars. Are you aware of that, Mr Witness?
-
Well, yes.
-
Are you just saying yes because you wish to agree with me or do you agree that if you divide 2,707,000 by 3,000 it will amount to about 902 US dollars?
-
Yes.
-
Now, Mr Witness, the Court is saying by its records that since 9 February 2005 it has spent about 900 and something US dollars on you. Does that sound accurate to you, Mr Witness?
-
I wouldn't deny that.
-
May I have a moment, Madam President? Madam President, I have no further questions.
-
Thank you, Mr Anyah. Ms Baly, re-examination of the witness?
-
Mr Witness, you said in your evidence that you had lived with Liberians in Freetown. My question is for how long did you live with the Liberians in Freetown?
-
We did not live together in the same home, like I said. But we lived in the same town, in the same Freetown, in the same areas, but not in the same home.
-
For how long did you live in the same areas with those Liberians?
-
For quite a long period of time because at the start of the war so many refugees escaped and came to Freetown, since 2002.
-
And what language did you hear those Liberians speaking in?
-
During the time they were in Freetown some used to try and manage to talk our Krio, but even at that, when they spoke, you would know that they were from there.
-
I'm just wondering if the transcript is accurate or if I misheard. The part where it says since 2002. I am wondering if that is what was actually said?
-
Did you, Mr Witness, say that you had lived in the same town since 2002 with those Liberians?
-
In Freetown at that time there were so many Liberians who had escaped from Liberia. They were many in Freetown.
-
What time are you referring to?
-
Since 1992. Since 1992 up to the time I got this problem.
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And when you said you lived with Liberians in Kono when you visited Kono, when was that?
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Yes. I used to go to Kono during the 1988/89, I used to go to Kono and spend time there in Koidu Town.
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And what language did you hear those Liberians that you encountered at that time in Kono speaking?
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The reason why we understand a Liberian whilst they speak, because when the Liberian speaks the Krio they will say "meh, meh", they will also say "meh". So when that happens you are quick to understand that this person indeed is a Liberian.
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Thank you, I have no further questions.
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Thank you, Ms Baly. We have no questions of the witness, Ms Baly.
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Your Honour, can I now move into evidence MFI-1 which is the transcript. I tender that document.
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Mr Anyah?
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No objection, Madam President.
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Thank you. That is a transcript of evidence of the witness as previously described and it becomes Prosecution exhibit P-210.
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[Exhibit P-210 admitted]
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I tender MFI-5, and as I indicated earlier I'm seeking that two pages, they being 20699 and 20704 be marked as a confidential exhibit.
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Mr Anyah, your reply to that application?
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Yes, I would be grateful to see those pages again. I do recall the first one might just be the pedigree of the witness, that is his biographical information.
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The pages record the same information. It's the same situation as with the last witness.
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Do you mean a handwritten page and a typed page?
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Yes, exactly, your Honour.
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If you require some time, Mr Anyah, I will release the witness, because we are technically over the lunch break, but it would be very neat to dispose of this.
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I think it would be appropriate to release the witness.
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Very well. Whilst you continue to look. Mr Witness, that is the end of your evidence here in court today. We thank you for coming to court and giving your evidence and you are now free to leave the Court and we wish you a safe journey home. Madam Court Officer will assist you to leave.
Yes, Mr Anyah, you're on your feet.
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I have no objection.
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To the confidentiality application in its entirety?
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Yes, Madam President.
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Very well. We will admit into evidence the statement of the witness. We will note that two pages, that is 20699 and 20704, will be marked as confidential and we will have them as Prosecution exhibit P-211A being the statements, that's the handwritten and the typed statements, and 211B being the two pages which are headed "Witness ID Form".
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[Exhibit P-211A and P-211B admitted]
If there are no other matters we will take the lunchtime adjournment and we will start again at 2.35. Please adjourn court until 2.35.
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[Lunch break taken at 1.35 p.m.]
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[Upon resuming at 2.35 p.m.]
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Good afternoon, Mr Werner.
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Good afternoon, Madam President, your Honours, counsel opposite. For the Prosecution this afternoon, Brenda J Hollis, Maja Dimitrova and Alain Werner.
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Thank you, Mr Werner. I think, Mr Anyah, your Bar is as before.
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Yes, that is correct, Madam President. Thank you.
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Thank you. Mr Werner, please proceed.
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Thank you, Madam President. Your Honours, the next witness for the Prosecution will be TF1-104. The reason why the witness is not here is that we need to make an application concerning the protective measures. This witness will be a 92 bis witness concordant to your decision of yesterday, I believe, 21 October 2008, TF1-104.
Now, the situation for this witness, as you noted in your decision, this witness was covered by a decision from Trial Chamber I on 11 May 2005 and this decision permitted the witness to testify in closed session. Our position is that on top of that permission the witness is a Category 1 in the 5 July 2004 decision. He is not listed in the annexes.
Now, we have spoken with this witness and this witness told us that he would like to testify completely openly. So we would apply to rescind the protection granted to this witness in the 11 May 2005 decision and to the extent that he is protected by the Category 1 on the 5 July 2004 decision then we will apply as well for this protection to be rescinded. That will be --
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When you say Category A, is that those persons falling under --
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Sorry, I said Category 1, your Honour. Yes, he is not in any annexes.
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So he is not seeking to have a pseudonym?
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No.
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I gather it is a gentleman, from what you have said?
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Yes.
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Mr Munyard, Mr Anyah, I am not sure who is dealing with this witness.
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Madam President, it's myself. Well, obviously, the Defence position is that we are always happier for witnesses to testify completely openly. We already have stated our position on the decision on 11 May 2005 and we maintain that - sorry, not 11 May 2005. That is the earlier one. Of the 5 July 2004. I don't need to repeat it. We maintain our position and we don't object to any application that the Prosecution may make, whether that application be technically redundant or not.
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We note the application and, as has been stated on similar applications earlier, we consider this application redundant. However, for purposes of record, we note that the witness TF1-104 will give his evidence in open session without use of a pseudonym. Please call the witness.
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Your Honour, our application was that we understand the position concerning the 2004 decision, but this witness was covered as well by an 11 May 2005 decision. This decision was - you made reference in your decision for this witness to be 92 bis. If your Honours need it, I have here a copy of the 11 May 2005 decision by Trial Chamber I permitting this witness to testify in closed session, so would apply as well for those protections to be rescinded.
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Then again for purposes of record and clarification, the witness seeks to rescind another protective measure. That is the measure of giving his evidence in closed session. Is that correct?
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Yes, Madam President.
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And that is, I gather, also not opposed and accordingly we grant that application.
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So we are calling this witness, TF1-104, Samuel Radder John, as the next Prosecution witness.
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Samuel who?
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Sorry, the name of the witness is Samuel Radder, R-A-D-D-E-R, John and he will testify in English and he is a Christian.