Hassan Bility

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Hassan Bility (born 20 June 1969 in Yekepa, Nimba County) is a Liberian journalist, and the founder and Director of the Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP), a non-governmental organization dedicated to the documentation of war time atrocities in Liberia and to assisting victims in their pursuit of justice for these crimes.

Contents

During Liberia's civil wars, Bility was one of the country's most prominent journalists and human rights activists. While serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Analyst Newspaper under the regime of Charles Taylor, he was arrested multiple times. [1] [2] [3] During the last of his arrests, he was accused of being an “unlawful combatant”, and was brutally tortured [4] on Taylor's orders. [5] He later testified in several trials, including the so-called ‘RUF trial’ of three former members of the Revolutionary United Front, as well as the trial of Charles Taylor, at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL); the trial of Charles McArthur Emmanuel, commonly known as Chuckie Taylor, in the USA; and the trial of Guus Kouwenhoven in the Netherlands. [6]                                      

Educational Background

BA Degree in Mass Communication (minor in Political Science) University of Liberia (1998).

Career in brief

Journalism

Bility worked as Managing Editor of the National Newspaper, Monrovia, Liberia (1997—2000). In 2000, he became Editor-in-Chief of the Analyst Newspaper and the Training Officer of the Press Union of Liberia. At the same time, he was engaged as Coordinator of the London-based International Alert peace-building program, through the Press Union of Liberia, and served as Press Officer of the European Union (EU) Liberian office in Monrovia under Ambassador Brian O’Neal.

For one year, Bility was a contracted writer with Amnesty International (2003-2004).  In 2004, he became Director of Communication at the International Institute for Justice and Development (IIJD), based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He toured the US speaking and raising awareness about the atrocities committed in Liberia. [7]

Documentation work

Since 2006, Bility has been working on the documentation of war-time crimes in Liberia in order assist in multiple investigations against alleged war criminals. [8] [9]

Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP)

Bility founded the GJRP in 2012. [10] Since then, under his leadership, the GJRP's documentation work has contributed to the investigation and arrest of multiple alleged Liberian war criminals throughout Europe and the US, [11] including the arrests of:

●     Alieu Kosiah, a former commander of the ULIMO rebel group (2014, Switzerland);

●     Martina Johnson, a former commander of Charles Taylor's rebel group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NFPL), for her implication in mutilations and mass killing committed in Liberia during the First Liberian Civil War (2014, Belgium);

●     Mohammed Jabbateh, a former commander of the ULIMO rebel group (2016, the USA);

●     Agnes Reeves Taylor, Charles Taylor’s ex-wife, for her suspected involvement with the NFPL during the First Liberian Civil War (2017, the UK);

●     Kunti K., a former commander of the ULIMO rebel group, for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity committed during the First Liberian Civil War (2018, France);

●     Thomas Woewiyu, co-founder and former spokesperson of the NPFL, and for several years Charles Taylor’s Defence Minister (2018, the USA); [12] Woewiyu’s sentencing hearing was postponed several times during 2018 and 2019. After the last postponement in April 2019, a new date for the hearing was not set, but was expected in 2020. Woewiyu was not in custody awaiting sentencing. On April 12, he died of COVID-19 after a week of treatment at the Bryn Mawr Hospital in Philadelphia, U.S. [13]

●     Gibril Massaquoi, a former Revolutionary United Front (RUF) war lord of Sierra Leone, [14] for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Liberia during the Second Liberian Civil War (2020, Finland) [15]

Awards

●     2002 – Press Union of Liberia, Best Journalist of the Year Award, Monrovia, Liberia

●     2003 – Amnesty International, International UK Media Award under the category ‘Human Rights Journalism under Threat’, London, UK

●     2003 – The Hassan Bility Courageous Journalism Award initiated by Liberians, USA

●     2004 – Freedom and Human Rights Courage Award, Philadelphia, PA, USA

●     2018 – Judith Lee Stronach Human Rights award for his courage, and his singular pursuit of justice for Liberia. [16]

Related Research Articles

History of Liberia Historical development of Liberia

Liberia is a country in West Africa founded by free people of color from the United States. The emigration of African Americans, both free and recently emancipated, was funded and organized by the American Colonization Society (ACS). The mortality rate of these settlers was the highest in accurately recorded human history. Of the 4,571 emigrants who arrived in Liberia between 1820 and 1843, only 1,819 survived.

Charles Taylor (Liberian politician) 22nd President of Liberia (1997–2003); convicted war criminal

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Prince Johnson Liberian politician

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Foday Sankoh

Foday Saybana Sankoh was the founder of the Sierra Leone rebel group Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which was supported by Charles Taylor-led NPFL in the 11-year-long Sierra Leone Civil War, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. An estimated 50,000 people were killed during the war, and over 500,000 people were displaced in neighboring countries.

Revolutionary United Front Rebel army and political party in Sierra Leone

The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was a rebel army that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, beginning in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later transformed into a political party, which still exists today. The three most senior surviving leaders, Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon and Augustine Gbao, were convicted in February 2009 of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy

The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) was a rebel group in Liberia that was active from 1999 until the resignation of Charles Taylor ended the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. While the group formally dissolved after the war, the interpersonal linkages of the civil war era remain a key force in internal Liberian politics.

First Liberian Civil War 1989–1996 civil war in Liberia

The First Liberian Civil War was an internal conflict in Liberia from 1989 until 1997. The conflict killed around 200,000 people and eventually led to the involvement of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and of the United Nations. The peace did not last long, and in 1999 the Second Liberian Civil War broke out.

Second Liberian Civil War 1999–2003 civil war in Liberia

The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighbouring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), emerged in northern Liberia. In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), emerged in the south, and by June–July 2003, Charles Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country.

The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) was a Liberian rebel group that initiated and participated in the First Liberian Civil War from 1989 to 1996.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the "Special Court" (SCSL), also called the Sierra Leone Tribunal, was a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law" committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 and during the Sierra Leone Civil War. The court's working language was English. The court listed offices in Freetown, The Hague, and New York City.

A new civil war began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighboring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), emerged in northern Liberia. By the spring of 2001, they were posing a major threat to the Taylor government. Liberia was now engaged in a complex three-way conflict with Sierra Leone and the Guinea Republic. By the beginning of 2002, both of these countries were supporting the latest addition to the lexicon of Liberian guerrilla outfits – Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), while Taylor was supporting various opposition factions in both countries. By supporting Sierra Leonean rebels, Taylor also drew the enmity of the British and Americans.

Joshua Milton Blahyi, better known by his nom de guerre General Butt Naked, is a Liberian evangelical preacher, writer and former warlord best known for his role during the First Liberian Civil War. In the conflict, Blahyi led a group of soldiers which fought on the side of United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) before converting to Christianity and becoming a pastor in 1996.

The Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), also known as the Anti-Terrorist Brigade, was a paramilitary force of the government of Liberia, established by then-President Charles Taylor in 1997–98. Chuckie Taylor, Charles Taylor's son, served as commander of the force for a period. The ATU was initially organized ostensibly to protect government buildings, the executive mansion, the international airport, and to provide security for some foreign embassies. It was a special forces group consisting predominantly of foreign nationals from Burkina Faso and The Gambia, as well as former Revolutionary United Front (RUF) combatants from Sierra Leone.

Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu, also known as Tom Woewiyu or Thomas Smith, was the former leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), with Charles Taylor. Woewiyu served as Defense Minister and Spokesman for the NPFL a rebel faction deemed responsible for over 60,000 violations, consisting of war crimes such as rape, slavery, conscription of child soldiers, and massacres, during Liberia's First Civil War. Woewiyu has held legal permanent resident status in the United States since 1972. There, he founded the Association for Constitutional Democracy in Liberia (ACDL) among the Liberian expatriate community in the U.S., an organization that advocated against the regime of the Samuel Doe, then President of Liberia. Woewiyu is also known for, at times, speaking out publicly against two former Liberian presidents Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Charles Taylor.

Benjamin Yeaten, widely known by his old radio call sign "50", is a Liberian militia leader and mercenary, who served as the Armed Forces of Liberia's deputy commander and director of the Special Security Service (SSS) during the presidency of Charles Taylor. Notorious for committing several war crimes, Yeaten was one of Taylor's most trusted and loyal followers and rose to the de facto leader of all of Taylor's armed forces and the second most powerful figure in the government during the Second Liberian Civil War. After the fall of Taylor's regime, he managed to flee his home country, and since then operates covertly in West Africa as commander, recruiter, and military adviser for hire. There are also rumours that Yeaten is secretly building a guerilla army in Liberia's hinterland.

Mohammed Jabbateh War criminal

Mohammed Jabbateh, also known by his nom de guerre Jungle Jabbah, is a Liberian who was convicted in the United States of lying to immigration authorities about his role in the First Liberian Civil War (1989-1997) when he sought asylum in the late 1990s. He was arrested in April 2016. In October 18, 2017, Jabbateh was tried and convicted in Philadelphia of two counts of fraud in immigration documents and two counts of perjury stemming from false statements he made when filing for asylum and permanent residence. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison the following April, the statutory maximum allowed. Jabbateh was the first person convicted of crimes stemming from war-related activities during the First Liberian Civil War. He lost his appeal in September 2020.

Alieu Kosiah is a former commander of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) faction, a rebel group that participated in the First Liberian Civil War (1989–1996) which fought against the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, led by Charles Taylor. After the war, Kosiah moved to Switzerland, where he obtained permanent residence.

Alain Werner 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.

Agnes Reeves Taylor, ex-wife of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, was born on 27 September 1965 in Liberia. On 2 June 2017, she was arrested in London by the Metropolitan Police and charged with torture on the grounds of her suspected involvement with the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NFPL) rebel group, which was led by her ex-husband, during the First Liberian Civil War, from 1989 to 1996.

Gibril Massaquoi was a commander and a spokesperson for the notorious Sierra Leone rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which also fought in Liberia. In 2005, he became the top informer for the prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He gave evidence to the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone set up to investigate war crimes committed in that conflict. He was relocated to Finland in 2008 as part of a witness protection programme, which provided immunity for crimes committed in Sierra Leone, but not Liberia.

References

  1. ↑ The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia. Republic of Liberia Final Report,Vol. II, Consolidated Final Report (PDF). Republic of Liberia: Press Union of Liberia. pp. 132, 195, 196, 201.
  2. ↑ "Le président demande la libération de Hassan Bility | Reporters sans frontières". RSF (in French). 2002-10-29. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  3. ↑ "LIBÉRIA : Amnesty International craint que le journaliste Hassan Bility et deux autres personnes ne soient morts, dans la mesure où ils n'ont pas été présentés à la justice". Amnesty International Belgique (in French). Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  4. ↑ "Tortured Journalist Hassan Bility Speaks Out". www.theperspective.org. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  5. ↑ Ripples of Hope: How Ordinary People Resist Repression Without Violence. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. 2015. pp. 180, 185, 190, 191, 192.
  6. ↑ Haddad, Musue N. (2003-02-17). "Liberia: Tortured Journalist Hassan Bility Describes Six Months in Jail". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  7. ↑ "Au Liberia, le combat de Hassan Bility contre l'impunité des seigneurs de la guerre" (in French). 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  8. ↑ Oakland Post. "Hassan Bility: War Crimes Investigator Seeks Global Support for Liberia | Post News Group" . Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  9. ↑ "Government is Obliged to Set Up War Crimes Court – Hassan Bility". FrontPageAfrica. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  10. ↑ "OHCHR | Access to justice is a form of rehabilitation for torture victims". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  11. ↑ "One Arrest in Liberia for War Crimes this Year – Bility". FrontPageAfrica. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  12. ↑ "High Level Roundtable on Liberian War Crimes Court Held in U.S." FrontPageAfrica. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  13. ↑ "Liberia: COVID-19 Claims Life of Taylor NPFL's Ex- Defense Minister; Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu". FrontPageAfrica. 2020-04-12. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  14. ↑ "The Massaquoi Affair: Special report on the Judas of Sierra Leone (Part 1)". www.justiceinfo.net. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  15. ↑ Dopoe, Robin (2020-03-12). "Sierra Leone Rebel Official Arrested in Finland over War Crimes in Liberia". Liberian Observer. Archived from the original on 2020-03-14. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  16. ↑ Hassan Bility — 2018 Judith Lee Stronach Award Winner , retrieved 2020-01-17
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