Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court has upheld the 20-year prison term given to Alieu Kosiah, a former rebel commander from Liberia. The judges did clear him of crimes against humanity, but his war crimes conviction remains in place.
In the ruling released Friday, the court considered whether Kosiah’s conduct during Liberia’s 1993-1995 civil war could count as crimes against humanity.
Because that offence only became part of Swiss criminal law in 2011, the judges held that applying it to events from that period would violate the principle of legality, and they dropped the charge.
All other convictions were upheld. They cover war crimes such as enlisting child soldiers, killing, rape, and the desecration of graves.
Kosiah, who is now 51, was taken into custody in Switzerland in 2014.
