Allen white confirms PYJ probe

The former chief prosecutor for the U.N.-backed special court for Sierra Leone, Dr. Allen White has confirmed that the leader of the disbanded rebels Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia, Senator Prince Yormie Johnson is being investigated for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Speaking to the Voice of America’s Peter Clottey over the weekend, Dr. White says the probe of Senator Johnson is in connection with atrocities committed during the nearly 15 years Liberian Civil War, including the action of an American.

He stresses the need for retributive justice in Liberia for victims of the civil conflict, adding the ongoing exercise is not something new. “There is an extensive record of crimes against humanity that has been committed and it is time the people of Liberia get retribution”, insists Dr. White who gathered evidence against jailed former Liberian President Charles Ghankay Taylor, which led to his conviction by the U.N.-backed Special Court in The Hague for aiding and abetting RUF rebels in Sierra Leone.

Mr. Taylor is currently serving a 50-year sentence in Britain. His ex-wife, 50 years old Agnes Reeves Taylor was arrested about two weeks ago in London for alleged torture in Liberia.

Sen. PYJ recently accused U.S. President Donald Trump and All Liberian Party Political Leader businessman Benoni Urey, of master-minding the campaign against him to destroy his political interest.

But Dr. White clarifies that the process of gathering pieces of evidence for people who committed atrocities in Liberia has been a long journey, spinning over a period of 15 years. Story by Jonathan Browne