Alain Werner

Alain Werner (born 19 November 1972) is a Swiss human rights lawyer, specialized in the defence of victims of armed conflicts, founder and director of Civitas Maxima (CM), an international network of lawyers and investigators based in Geneva that since 2012 represents victims of mass crimes in their attempts to obtain justice.[1]

Education and affiliation

He received his degree in law from Geneva University (Switzerland) (1996) and was admitted to the Bar of Geneva (Switzerland) (1999). He received his masters (LL.M) at Columbia University, New York (2003).[2]

Career

Werner worked in Freetown and in the Hague for five years (2003–2008) for the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) prosecuting the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and former Liberian President Charles Taylor. He was also a lawyer for the civil parties (victims) at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in Phnom Penh on the "Kaing Guek Eav" a.k.a. "Duch" case (2009–2010). Since 1998 he also worked for Chadian victims of the former Chadian President Hissène Habré  and was the one of civil parties lawyers representing them in Habré’s trial in Dakar (2015–2017) at the Extraordinary African Chambers. In 2012, he founded Civitas Maxima in Geneva, Switzerland.[3]

Werner began studying law in Geneva under Professor Robert Roth (later Presiding Judge of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon) from 1993 to 1996 just as the discipline of international criminal law was emerging. He went on to complete his masters at Columbia University, after which he was accepted on a Swiss government program to work on international projects. The program took him to the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he became a Trial Attorney for the OTP of the SCSL in the team prosecuting three RUF commanders following the end of the conflict in 2002. He continued in the program for three years, being then hired directly by the SCSL-OTP as Trial Attorney.[4]

Charles Taylor

In 2006, former Liberian president Charles Taylor was arrested while in exile in Nigeria and handed over to the SCSL, which had previously indicted him. Werner joined the SCSL prosecution team led by Brenda Hollis and Nicholas Koumjian, gathering witness statements and other evidence, and appearing in Court. Taylor was eventually convicted and, following an unsuccessful appeal, was imprisoned in the UK for a term of 50 years.[5]

Hissène Habré

Between 2008 and 2017, alongside other projects, Werner worked for Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch on the case of the former President of Chad, Hissène Habré, and represented some of the victims for the two-year trial before the Extraordinary African Chambers in Dakar from 2015 to 2017.

Kaing Guek Eav" a.k.a. "Duch"

In 2009, he was invited by Karim Khan QC to join a team working for the victims on the "Kaing Guek Eav" or "Duch" case, the first case heard at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). This experience cemented Werner's focus on the importance of documentation and preservation of evidence.

Aegis Trust

From there he moved to London to the Aegis Trust, an organization dedicated to preventing genocide and mass atrocities worldwide. At Aegis he worked with Hassan Bility, a prominent Liberian journalist who had been arrested and tortured under the Taylor regime. Their focus was on crimes that had been committed in Liberia and on working with partners in Sierra Leone to obtain evidence on the trade by Western players of 'blood diamonds'

Civitas Maxima

At that point, Werner decided to set out on his own network and, in September 2012, he founded Civitas Maxima, an organisation that focuses on the meticulous documentation of mass crimes, and pursue of justice on behalf of the victims.[6]

Since its establishment in 2012, Civitas Maxima, working with its partners ( Global Justice and Research Project in Liberia and Center for Accountability and the Rule of Law in Sierra Leone) has built cases and contributed to the arrest of several individuals suspected of involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity, collaborating with several different war crimes units, agents and/or prosecutors in Europe and the United States.[7]

Martina Johnson

Martina Johnson, a former commander of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NFPL, group headed by Charles Taylor), was arrested and indicted in 2014 for her implication in mutilations and mass killing committed in Liberia during the First Liberian Civil War.[8][9]

Alieu Kosiah

In 2014, Alieu Kosiah was arrested for suspected involvement in war crimes committed by the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) while fighting the NPFL between 1993 and 1995. In November 2019, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court listed the criminal case against Alieu Kosiah for trial in Bellinzona for April 2020 (14 to 30).[10][11][12]

Michel Desaedeleer

In 2015, Michel Desaedeleer, an American and Belgian citizen, was arrested indicted for enslavement, and pillage of blood diamonds in Sierra Leone. Desaedeleer's arrest was the first case ever on international crimes connected to suspected participation in the blood diamond trade. No trial ultimately took place as, shortly before it was due to start, Desaedeleer committed suicide in prison in Brussels.[13][14][15]

Mohammed Jabbateh

In 2016, Mohammed Jabbateh (aka Jungle Jabbah) was arrested, indicted and charged by the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with two counts of fraud in immigration documents in violation of the 18 U.S.C. § 1546 and two counts of perjury in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1621. Jabbateh pleaded "not guilty" on all counts. Jabbateh denied his involvement during the First Liberian Civil War when he sought asylum in the late 1990s. Jabbateh was sentenced to 30 years in prison on April 19.[16][17][18]

Agnes Reeves Taylor

In 2017, Agnes Reeves Taylor, ex-wife of Charles Taylor, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police and charged with torture on grounds of her suspected involvement with the NFPL during the First Liberian Civil War. On December 6, 2019, the Central Criminal Court in London decided that Agnes Taylor will not face trial in the UK. “The supreme court refined the interpretation of the law and in light of their judgement, the trial judge granted Agnes Taylor's application to dismiss the case against her. We will give careful consideration to that ruling,” a CPS spokesperson commented.[19][20][21]

Kunti K

In 2018, Kunti K was arrested for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity committed during the First Liberian Civil War (1989-1996) while acting as a commander for the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO). He had been in pre-trial detention in Paris, but was released in September 2018 due to a procedural error. Kunti K. was subject to conditions of release, including being prohibited from leaving France. The French and Liberian authorities have continued carrying out investigations on the ground in Liberia. In January 2020, Kunti K. was rearrested by French authorities, after he violated the conditions placed on his release.[22]

Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu

In 2018, the trial of Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu took place at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania at the James A. Byrne United States Courthouse. Woewiyu— co-founder, and for several years defense minister of Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia—became one of the few Liberian leaders to be arrested in the United States and charged with multiple counts of immigration fraud and perjury. After a trial in June 2018, featuring testimony from Liberian victims about the NPFL's crimes, he was convicted and found guilty on eleven counts of immigration-related perjury and fraud related to lying about his violent past. The sentencing hearing was scheduled for October 15, 2018 but has been postponed multiple times.[23][24][25] Woewiyu was not in custody awaiting sentencing. He died on April 12, 2020 of COVID-19 after a week of treatment at the Bryn Mawr Hospital in Philadelphia, U.S.[26]

Gibril Massaquoi

In 2020, Gibril Massaquoi, a former Revolutionary United Front (RUF) combatant of Sierra Leone, was arrested in Finland for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Liberia during the Second Liberian Civil War.[27][28]

Awards

In April 2019 Werner was awarded the prize Bâtonnier Michel Halpérin for Excellence by the Geneva Bar Association.[29] In November 2020, he became an Ashoka fellow. Emilie Romon, co-director of Ashoka Switzerland, stated that : "We selected Alain Werner as a fellow because of his vision, creative solutions, impressive impact and strong ethical fiber. He identifies flaws in the system and finds new entrepreneurial ways to achieve his goals. He has the potential to transform the judiciary system and increase the efficiency of international justice." [30]

References
  1. Maurisse, Marie (12 March 2019). "Alain Werner, au nom de la justice contre ceux qui ont versé le sang" (in French). ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  2. Southall, Alice. "Inside Life: Alain Werner, Civitas Maxima". practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  3. http://www.acatfrance.fr/public/c327-40ans-32-alain_werner.pdf
  4. Kuhn, Gustavo (2 July 2016). "Alain Werner, le Genevois qui poursuit les criminels de guerre". TDG (in French). ISSN 1010-2248. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  5. swissinfo.ch, S. W. I.; Corporation, a branch of the Swiss Broadcasting. "Les guérillas judiciaires d'Alain Werner". SWI swissinfo.ch (in French). Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  6. Mendicino, Fedele (5 September 2019). "Un chasseur de tortionnaires primé". TDG (in French). ISSN 1010-2248. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  7. "Invité Afrique - Alain Werner (avocat suisse): "Il y a une réelle volonté de justice au Liberia"". RFI (in French). 30 December 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  8. Mark, Monica; correspondent, west Africa (7 October 2014). "Martina Johnson's Liberian war crimes trial is a milestone in quest for justice | Monica Mark". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  9. "What Does a War Criminal Look Like?". Schaffer&Combs. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  10. "Plainte contre un ex-milicien libérien classée". TDG (in French). 25 November 2019. ISSN 1010-2248. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  11. "LIBERIA: Swiss Court Sets April 2020 Trial Date for Former ULIMO Commander". FrontPageAfrica. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  12. Dopoe, Robin (28 March 2019). "Switzerland to Prosecute Ex-ULIMO Commander for War Crimes in Liberia". Liberian Observer. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  13. "Les diamants de sang : l'ONG Civitas Maxima continue le combat". www.justiceinfo.net (in French). Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  14. Lister, Tim. "'Blood Diamonds' arrest exposes grim trade". CNN. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  15. Badcock, James (31 August 2015). "US-Belgian businessman arrested on Sierra Leone 'blood diamonds' charge in Spain". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  16. "Des victimes de la guerre au Libéria témoignent aux USA dans le procès de "Jungle Jabbah"". www.justiceinfo.net (in French). Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  17. Corey-Boulet, Robbie (28 November 2017). "A US Immigration Case Offers a Rare Day in Court for Victims of Liberian War Crimes". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  18. correspondent, Jason Burke Africa (20 April 2018). "Ex-Liberian warlord jailed in US for lying about asylum claim". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  19. correspondent, Owen Bowcott Legal affairs (6 December 2019). "Judge dismisses torture charges against Charles Taylor's ex-wife". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  20. Freeman, Colin (6 December 2019). "Britain drops war crimes case against Charles Taylor's former wife". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  21. Peltier, Elian (7 December 2019). "U.K. Halts Torture Case Against Ex-Wife of Liberia's Charles Taylor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  22. "Ex-Rebel Commander Accused of War Crimes Rearrested in France". FrontPageAfrica. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  23. Hylton, Annie (29 April 2019). "How the U.S. Became a Haven for War Criminals". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  24. Hylton, Annie (29 April 2019). "How the U.S. Became a Haven for War Criminals". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  25. "Continued Fight for Accountability in Liberia: Another Landmark U.S. Court Decision". Just Security. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  26. "Liberia: COVID-19 Claims Life of Taylor NPFL's Ex- Defense Minister; Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu". FrontPageAfrica. 12 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  27. "The Massaquoi Affair: Special report on the Judas of Sierra Leone (Part 1)". www.justiceinfo.net. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  28. "The Massaquoi Affair: Special report on the Judas of Sierra Leone (Part 2)". www.justiceinfo.net. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  29. https://www.odage.ch/medias/documents/Les%20Essentielles/Prix_Michel_Halpe%CC%81rin_2019.pdf
  30. https://genevasolutions.news/peace-humanitarian/alain-werner-praised-for-his-fight-for-victims-of-war-crimes
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