Our latest investigations training and mentoring session for the Global Justice and Research Project
IICI is proud to announce the completion of its latest investigations training and mentoring session for the Global Justice and Research Project, the only Liberian organization documenting atrocities crimes that were committed during the two Liberian Civil Wars and assisting victims in their fight for justice.
This is the third such engagement between IICI and GJRP, together with its sister organization, Civitas Maxima, based in Geneva, Switzerland. GJRP, in cooperation with Civitas Maxima, builds cases on behalf of victims, mostly in European countries with jurisdiction over international crimes. As GJRP Director Hassan Bility says, before the IICI training ‘…what we were lacking was an understanding of how to collect information that could be used as evidence in a trial…the continuous IICI training that we have benefited from during these past few years has been a game-changer for us. We have learned how to approach victims and witnesses in the right way, how to assess and analyze and store the information we collect, how to engage with vulnerable and insider witnesses, how to treat sexual violence victims and how to be more vigilant about our own security. We have become a trusted, professional partner when working with foreign investigative authorities. To cite some public examples, our work led to the arrest of Martina Johnson in Belgium, former artillery commander of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia, based on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes as well as to the arrest of Alieu Kosiah, former Liberian rebel commander, in Switzerland on similar charges. We also provided the initial information to UK authorities that led to an investigation of Charles Taylor’s ex-wife Agnes Reeves Taylor. She was arrested in June 2017. IICI’s contribution to our growth and professionalism has been part and parcel of this success. But above all, the IICI’s training has added a whole new dimension to the way the GJRP now works, the way other investigative agencies view the GJRP with the utmost respect and the cooperation we now get from witnesses and victims, as well as from the general Liberian public. All this because of the level of professionalism the IICI’s training has instilled in the staff of the GJRP.‘