20100724
Concord

Freetown — On her second visit to Sierra Leone as the Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Ms. Brenda J. Hollis expressed pleasure in the courage displayed by Sierra Leoneans in demanding justice for the wrongs done to them during the country's decade-long civil war.

Ms. Hollis told journalists at the Sierra Leone News Agency SLENA that she was overwhelmed. "I am awed by the spirit of the Sierra Leonean people," she said. "They rightly demanded justice for the wrongs done to them and also searched their hearts and found the power to forgive in order to move forward with life."

Despite the terrible crimes perpetrated during the war and the subsequent trial process at the Special Court, courageous men, women and children took to the stand as both prosecution and defence witnesses to tell their experiences, she said.

"We are impressed by their courage. In the case of Charles Taylor trial, we are very grateful for their willingness to travel thousands of miles to bear witness. They have made justice possible," Ms. Hollis added.

Speaking further on the Taylor trial, she said it has been conducted under the strictest standards of international justice and that both the prosecution and the defence teams have been able to freely and vigorously put forward their cases as part of a free and fair trial.

"We expect the end of the evidence phase of the Taylor case later this year. A trial judgment and then appeal phase will follow over the coming year. The prosecution has confronted Charles Taylor with the full weight of our case and we are confident that international justice will succeed," she explained.

The Special Court prosecutor maintained that the most important legacy of the court would be to show that there can be no impunity for those who abuse power to commit atrocities against fellow human beings.

Brenda J. Hollis was appointed prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone by the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon in February this year.