THE trial of Sierra Leone’s notorious rebel leader Foday Sankoh for a slew of vicious crimes resumed in Freetown Monday with a potential death penalty hanging over his head. Sankoh, the elusive leader of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), appeared on March 4 before the Freetown magistrates court along alongside some 50 other defendants on charges ranging from robbery to murder. It was his first public appearance since his arrest in 2000. The 10-year rebel war, which was formally ended in January, has claimed the lives of between 100 000 and 200 000 Sierra Leoneans, according to various estimates and left tens of thousands maimed or raped. Sankoh was officially charged after the Sierra Leonean government lifted a state of emergency on March 1, in a prelude to upcoming polls in May. – AFP
Thursday March 07, 2002