Special Court for Sierra Leone
Press and Public Affairs Office

PRESS RELEASE
Freetown, Sierra Leone, 5 December 2003

Prosecutor Withdraws Indictments Against Sankoh and Bockarie

Special Court Prosecutor David Crane announced to the Trial Chamber of the Special Court today that he is withdrawing indictments against two accused, Foday Sankoh and Sam Bockarie, both of whom have died since the charges were brought last March.

Mr Crane said there is no doubt that both Bockarie and Sankoh are dead. He added that the withdrawal of indictments against persons who are deceased is expressly provided for by Rule 51 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Special Court.

According to the death certificate, Bockarie died in Liberia last May as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. His body was positively identified by several witnesses.

Sankoh died at the Choithram Hospital in Freetown after a long illness.

When withdrawing the charges, Mr Crane requested of the Trial Chamber that the death certificates for both men be entered on the official Court record.

"The withdrawal of these indictments does not mean that there will not be a record of what Sankoh and Bockarie did to the people of Sierra Leone," Mr Crane emphasised.

"The whole story of the alleged crimes committed by Sankoh and Bockarie will be brought to light," Mr Crane said.

He noted that there have been similar cases at other international criminal tribunals where prosecutors withdrew charges against people because they had died.

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