Key facts
- Swiss court upheld a 20-year sentence for Liberian warlord Alieu Kosiah.
- The conviction was for war crimes including rape, murder, and cannibalism.
- A conviction for crimes against humanity was reversed due to retroactive law application.
- The ruling was published on Friday, October 30.
Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court on Friday confirmed a 20-year prison sentence for Liberian warlord Alieu Kosiah, closing the country's first war crimes trial. Kosiah had been sentenced in June 2021 for acts committed during Liberia's civil war in the 1990s, including rape, murder, and cannibalism. The court reversed a conviction for crimes against humanity, stating that the law for such crimes, introduced in 2011, could not be applied retroactively. An earlier appeal in 2023 by the Federal Criminal Court had also been rejected.