Uitspraak Nº 20-001906-10 English translation. Gerechtshof 's-Hertogenbosch, 2017-04-21

ECLIECLI:NL:GHSHE:2017:2650
Docket Number20-001906-10 English translation
Date21 Abril 2017
CourtGerechtshof 's-Hertogenbosch (Nederland)
English translation of ECLI:NL:GHSHE:2017:1760

Links Rechtspraak.nl

Judgement
Criminal law section

Case no. : 20-001906-10

Judgement : April 21, 2017

DEFENDED ACTION

Ruling of the three judge panel at the Court of Appeal in ’s-Hertogenbosch,

rendered, after referral of the case by the Supreme Court following the appeal lodged against the judgement of the District Court in The Hague of June 7, 2006, case no. 09-750001-05, in the criminal case against:

[Defendant]

Born in [place of birth] on [date of birth] 1942,

without a known address or residence in the Netherlands

correspondence address: [correspondence address]

in which:

  • -

    The defendant was acquitted of the charges under 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B;

  • -

    The defendant was sentenced for

  • -

    “complicity in a deliberate violation of a rule laid down by article 2 (old) of the Sanctions Act 1977, committed multiple times” and

  • -

    “complicity in a deliberate violation of a rule laid down by article 2 of the Sanctions Act 1977, committed multiple times”

to a term of imprisonment of 8 years, less the time spent in pre-trial detention in accordance with article 27 of the Dutch Criminal Code;

- The court issued an order for the return of items seized from the defendant.

Appeal

Both the defendant and the public prosecutor lodged an appeal against abovementioned judgement.

In its ruling of 10 March 2008, case no. 22-004337-06, the Court of Appeal in The Hague set aside above mentioned judgement and fully acquitted the defendant of the charges against him and ordered the return of items seized from the defendant.

In its ruling of April 20, 2010, no. S 08/01322, the Supreme Court set aside the judgement rendered by the Court of Appeal in The Hague and referred the case to this Appeals Court to retry the existing appeal case and give judgement.

Extent of the appeal

At the hearing of the Court of Appeal on 6 February 2017, the advocates general (the prosecutors on appeal) informed the court that all seized objects about which no decision had been taken yet, shall be returned to the defendant.

The court will therefore, with the consent of the defence and the advocates general, not take a decision concerning the seized objects.

Hearing of the case

This judgement has been rendered following the hearing of the case in court.

The court has taken note of the demand submitted by the advocates general and of all issues brought forward on behalf of the defendant.

In their demand, the advocates general have requested the court to set aside the contested judgement and to render a new judgement, whereby they have requested the court:

  • -

    To acquit the defendant of the charges under 1A primarily and in the alternative, 1B,
    2A primarily and in the alternative, 2B, 3A primarily and in the alternative and 3B;

  • -

    And with regard to the charges under 1A in the further alternative, 2A in the further alternative, 3A in the further alternative, 4 and 5, to sentence the defendant to a term of imprisonment of 20 years, less the time spent in pre-trial detention in accordance with article 27 of the Dutch Criminal Code.

Furthermore, the advocates general demanded the court to order the imprisonment of the defendant.

The defence has pleaded:

  • -

    Primarily, to declare the inadmissibility of Public Prosecution Service;

  • -

    In the alternative, to fully acquit the defendant of all charges;

  • -

    In the further alternative, should the defendant be found guilty, not to impose a prison sentence on him, since he is unable to undergo imprisonment.

Contested judgement

The contested judgement shall be set aside because it is incompatible with the judgement to be rendered hereafter.

Indictment


After the modification of the indictment during the hearing of the case in the first instance, the defendant is charged with the offences as mentioned below:

COUNT 1A Primarily

that he, at (one) (or more) points in time in or around December 1, 2000 through March 1, 2001, at least in the year 2000 and/or 2001, and/or (also) in or around the period from January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002, in Guéckédou, at least in Guinea, together and

in conjunction with (an) other(s), (each time) violated the laws and practices of war,

- while from that offence/those offences (each time) death or severe bodily harm of (an) other(s) was to be feared and/or
- that offence/those offences (each time) involved inhuman treatment and/or
- that offence/those offences (each time) involved looting and/or
- while that offence/those offences (each time) resulted in the death of (an) other(s)
and/or
- that offence/those offences (each time) involved rape and/or
- that offence/those offences (each time) resulted in severe bodily harm of (an) other(s)
and/or
- that offence/those offences (each time) involved acts of violence with united forces against one (or more) person(s) or acts of violence against a dead, sick or wounded person,

which implies that he, the defendant, (as) president of Oriental Timber Company and/or owner and/or director of Royal Timber Company, and/or (one or more) of his co-perpetrator(s), being Charles Taylor and/or [co-perpetrator 1] (alias [co-perpetrator 1]) and/or [co-perpetrator 2] and/or [co-perpetrator 3] and/or [co-perpetrator 4] and/or [co-perpetrator 5] and/or [co-perpetrator 6] and/or [co-perpetrator 7] and/or [co-perpetrator 8] and/or (one or more) other(s) (person(s) who has/have remained unknown until the present) then and there (each time)

-
contrary to international common law (in particular the common law ban on attacks carried out without making any distinction between soldiers and civilians) and/or torture and/or inhuman treatment and/or rape and/or looting and/or acts of violence with regard to (a) civilian(s) and/or personnel of the armed forces that had laid down arms and/or (a) person(s) who had been put out of action by imprisonment or another cause) and/or
- the stipulations set out in article 130 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (“Third Geneva Convention” 1949) and/or

- the stipulations set out in article 147 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civil Persons in Time of War (“Fourth Geneva Convention”, 1949) and/or

- the stipulations set out in “common” article 3 of the Geneva Conventions dated 12 August 1949,
as (a) member(s) of and/or participant(s) to, at least belonging to, one of the parties to an (international or non-international) armed conflict on the territory of Liberia and/or Guinea

(repeatedly) committed an attack on someone’s life and/or physical violence, at least mutilation and/or cruel (inhuman) treatment and/or torture and/or rape, and/or looting, with regard to (one) (or more) person(s) who were (at that time) not (no longer) directly participating in the hostilities (being (a) civilian(s) and/or personnel of the armed forces that had laid down arms and/or the person(s) who had been put out of action by imprisonment or another cause),

attack(s) on someone’s life and/or physical violence, at least mutilation and/or cruel (inhuman) treatment and/or torture and/or rape and/or looting, which (among other matters) implied that the aforesaid member(s), at least the afore-mentioned person(s), together and in conjunction with others, (each time) deliberately,

• by using AK 47’s (Automat Kalashnikov 47) and/or RPG’s (Ruchnoi Protivotankovye Granatamy, also referred to as Rocket Propelled Grenade or Russian Powerful Gun) and/or one or more GMG’s (General Machine Gun) and/or mortars and/or other fire weapons, fired

(at random) at the town of Guéckédou, without making any distinction between soldiers and civilians, while knowing that this (type of) attack(s) would cause excessive loss of human lives, injuries to civilians and/or damages to civilian objects and/or
• aimed and/or fired at (one) (or more) civilian(s) and/or personnel of the armed forces that had laid down arms and/or the person(s) who had been put out of action by imprisonment or another cause and/or
• set fire to (a) house(s) where (one) (or more) civilian(s) and/or personnel of the armed forces that had laid down arms and/or the person(s) who had been put out of action by imprisonment or another cause were still staying and/or
• cut off the head(s) of three, at least one or more civilian(s) and/or (members) (of) (the) personnel of the armed forces that had laid down arms and/or the person(s) who had been put out of action by imprisonment or another cause and/or (subsequently) threw (one) (or more) baby/babies against walls and/or threw (one) (or more) baby/babies into wells and/or
• forced (one) (or more) civilian(s) and/or personnel of the armed forces that had laid down arms and/or the person(s) who had been put out of action by imprisonment or another cause to gather in (one) (their) house(s) and/or (subsequently) threw (a) grenade(s) inside as a consequence of which the afore-mentioned civilians and/or personnel of the armed forces that had laid down arms and/or the person(s) who had been put out of action by imprisonment or another cause died and/or experienced (severe) bodily harm and/or


• raped (a) woman/women and/or (a) child/children and/or
• plundered possessions of (one) (or more) civilian(s) and/or personnel of the armed forces that had laid down arms and/or the person(s) who had been put out of action by imprisonment or another cause and/or (of) (members of) the armed forces.

Alternatively: in so far as the above should not or could not lead to a conviction
that Charles Taylor and/or [co-perpetrator 1] (alias [co-perpetrator 1]) and/or [co-perpetrator 2] and/or [co-perpetrator 3] and/or [co-perpetrator 4] and/or [co-perpetrator 5] and/or [co-perpetrator 6] and/or...

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