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| |  | | Johnny Paul Koroma | | | context : | Sierra Leone  | | judgement place : | Sierra Leone Special Court | | status : | Indicted | | particulars : | In hiding or dead, fate uncertain | | position : | Former Junta leader |
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| | | | Johnny Paul Koroma was born on 9 May 1960 in the North East of Sierra Leone. His schooling took place in the Catholic schools of Freetown.
In 1985, he joined the Sierra Leonean army. In 1988, he was sent as a student officer to Sandhurst Military Academy in England. In 1989 he returned to Sierra Leone and was promoted to Section Commander then subsequently to Company Commander. Further promotions followed and he was assigned to several different units.
In 1994, he went to the Teshie Military College in Ghana to follow courses in Army Command and General Staff.
In 1996, Johnny Paul Koroma was involved in an attempt to overthrow the government of President Kabbah. He was arrested put on trial and convicted.
According to the indictment, the AFRC (Armed Forces Revolutionary Council) seized power by a coup d’état on 27 May 1997.
On the same day, subordinate officers took the prison by assault and freed Koroma.
Following this he was named Head of State and Chairman of the l AFRC.
Shortly after taking power, the Revolutionary united front (RUF) rebels were reportedly invited to join a government of national unity.
The Junta was to be forced from power by forces acting in the name of President Kabbah who, at the time, was in exile but then was restored to power in March 1998.
During the period covered by the indictment, the RUF and the AFRC, in agreement with or under the orders of Koroma, were said to have led armed attacks throughout the territory of Sierra Leone. The primary targets of these attacks were the civilian population, humanitarian aid workers as well as the United Nations peacekeeping forces. Allegedly, the aim of these attacks was to terrorise the population or to punish it for not lending sufficient support to the RUF/AFRC alliance.
In particular these attacks were said to have included murders, physical violence (notably mutilations), and sexual violence with regard to civilians as well as the looting of their belongings.
As a component part of this campaign of terror, the alliance is reported to have frequently kidnapped women and girls to be raped and turned into sex slaves and to have abducted men and boys to be put into forced labour as well as taking children to have them enrolled by force in the conflict. | |     click for more... | | Trial Watch would like to remind its users that any person charged by national or international authorities is presumed innocent until proven guilty. | |  |  | | nationality : | | | Sierra leone | | | date of birth : | | | 09.05.1960 | | | also known as : | | | JPK | | | period of charges : | | | 01.11.1996 | | | judgement period : | | | 10.03.2003 | | | charges : | | | Crimes against humanity
War crimes | | | profile last modified : | | | 08.12.2009 |
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