- Sierra Leone's war criminals of the former pro-government Civil Defence Force [Kamajor] have had their prison terms more than doubled by the United Nations-backed war crimes court.
The former Kamajor leaders - Moinina Fofana and Alieu Kondewa - were respectively sentenced to six and eight years in prison last year. Their lawyers filed an appeal because the sentences were a far cry from their clients' crimes.
But the tribunal headed by Justice Kelega King discovered that the previous terms were below the level of their crimes and went ahead to adjust the sentences of Fofana and Kondewa 16 and 20 years.
The men were found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Sierra Leone's brutal 10-year civil war, which saw the cutting of arms and limbs of thousands of people.
Fofana and Kondewa led the pro-government militia group - mainly composed of traditional Kamajor hunter fighters - to fight against the rebels, including the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of the late Foday Sankoh.
Unlike other fighters, most Sierra Leoneans commended the Kamajor militia for defending armless civilians from heartless rebels. This was why the arrest of the group's late founder, Sam Hinga Norman, attracted a barrage of condemnation.
However, Human Rights Watch was delighted with the court's latest decision, saying there could not be any excuse for attacking and mutilating innocent civilians.
Earlier, the Appeals Chamber of the court had upheld the long sentences on three leaders of the defunct ruling Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).
Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu were convicted last June on 11 of the 14 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other violations of international humanitarian law.
Brima and Kanu were each sentenced to 50 years in prison while Kamara received 45 years.
The men's appeal was turned down as the court upheld the judgment and sentence, believing it was "pursuant to Section "pursuant to Section 102 of procedure and evidence."
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