Trial Watch database
Legal Procedure
TRIAL International's Universal Jurisdiction Annual Review (UJAR) 2019
Jucontee Thomas Smith Woewiyu
08.05.2016 ( Last modified: 12.07.2019 )
Trial Watch would like to remind its users that any person charged by national or international authorities is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Born in 1946 in Liberia, Jucontee Thomas Smith Woewiyu is a former co-founder and one of the leaders of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).
The NPFL was a military organization directed by Charles Taylor which aimed at seizing power and ousting the then president Samuel Doe. On 24 December 1989, the NPFL invaded Liberia. In April 1990, 90% of the country was under control of the NPFL.
Woewiyu was a spokesperson and negotiator of the NPFL. He was also a minister of defence in 1990 under the regime of Charles Taylor. Because of the divergence of opinions on the ideology of the party, he left Taylor's party in 1994 and created his own political party – the NPFL – CRC (National Patriotic Front of Liberia – Central Revolutionary Council). He returned subsequently back to NPFL and became minister of labour under Taylor between 1997 and 1999.
The NPFL was accused of participating in a number of international crimes, especially those of sexual slavery, exterminations or recruitment of child soldiers. Woewiyu was implicated in planning of attacks against civilians, in particular in 1992 during the operation Octopus. This operation consisted of conquering Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, and resulted in death of thousands of civilians and fighters.
Since January 1972 Woewiyu has legal permanent residence in the United States of America. He applied for the United States citizenship in January 2006.
On 30 January 2014, Woewiyu was placed under investigation for several counts of crimes relating to perjury, fraudulent application for American citizenship, deception of immigration services and delivery of false documents for the purposes of the process naturalisation.
On 12 May 2014, Woewiyu was arrested in Newark Airport upon his return from Liberia.
In October 2014, his bail was paid and Woewiyu was placed under house arrest.
His trial began on 11 June 2018. On 3 July 2018, he was found guilty of immigration fraud, false statements concerning his naturalization and perjury. The decision on his sentence was scheduled for 26 November 2018 but it was postponed. He faces a maximum sentence of 110 years of imprisonment and a fine of four million.
This is the third trial held in the United States in connection with the civil war in Liberia after the trials of George Boley and Mohammed Jabbateh.
Furthermore, the son of Charles Taylor, Chuckie Taylor, an American citizen was the first person judged under the Alien Tort Statute (the American law for civil offences against foreigners) for the crimes committed in Liberia.
Name: Jucontee Thomas Smith Woewiyu
Nationality: Liberian
Context: Liberia
Charges: Immigration fraud
Status: Convicted; awaiting his sentencing judgement
Judgement Place: United States
Particulars: His trial started on 11 June 2018. He was indicted on 3 July 2018 for immigration fraud, false statements about his naturalization and perjury. The decision on his sentence, originally scheduled for 26 November 2018, was postponed.
In Burundi, relatives of the disappeared are also victimized
Unfortunately torture cases in Burundi are numerous. This new case is another proof of the widespread climate of impunit...
Prosecuting sexual violence as an international crime: A review of the 2018 cases
29.04.2019 - (Last modified: 07.01.2020)
In 2018, more than 30 trials were initiated in over 15 countries, from Guatemala to the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
Victor Hugo Soto Diéguez
In 1986, Victor Hugo Soto Diéguez joined the Technical Investigations Department (DIT) of the former Guatemalan police. He then joined the Brigade on Special Instigations on Narcotics Trafficking, known under its Spanish acronym BIEN. In 1997, following the Peace Agreements signed in 1996...
DRC: Seven years after the crimes, Lieutenant-Colonel Safari Kateatea Amos finally cond...
Despite the progress of justice in eastern RDC, few cases are of concern to senior army officers. © MONUSCO/Sylvain Liec...
Swiss Federal Court upholds Erwin Sperisen's conviction
On 28 November 2019, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (FSC) upheld Erwin Sperisen's sentence to 15 years in prison. In Ap...
Ousman Sonko was a member of the Gambian army under the regime of Yahya Jammeh, former President of the Republic of The...
Ousman Sonko was the Minister of Interior under the Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh from 2006 to 2016. During this period...
Radomir Radovan Šušnjar
Radomir Radovan Šušnjar, known as Lalco, was born in 1955 in Bosnia Herzegovina. He worked as a delivery driver for a bakery in the city of Višegrad before the war started. Šušnjar is suspected of participating in what has been called the "live bonfire" ("Živa lomača") the burning alive of...
Radomir Šušnjar
Radomir Šušnjar, otherwise known as "Lalco", is accused by several Bosnian and Serbian witnesses of being involved in the murders of 59 Bosniaks, who were burnt alive in Visegrad during the conflict. In June 1992, approximately 70 people – mostly women, children and elderly persons – were...
In Kasai (DRC), law and medicine work hand in hand towards higher accountability
For its first venture in the Kasai region, TRIAL International has partnered with the medical NGO Physicians for Human R...
Shining verdict in the Kokodikoko case (DRC)
Three former militiamen, including the infamous warlord Kokodikoko, have been condemned for crimes against humanity. The...
Kavumu trial: High Military Court confirms all condemnations
Tonight, the High Military Court of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (HMC) has confirmed the condemnation of all 11...
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter on TRIAL International's activities and the latest developments in international justice.
©2020 trialinternational.org | All rights reserved | Disclaimer | Statutes | Designed and Produced by ACW