A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

plastic and my sister’s fingers were broken.” 86
The killings were often preceded by multiple forms of violence.
It was not uncommon for rebels to commit torture, mutilation,
rapes, beatings, and other cruel treatment before or in the course
of the murder. One form of torture commonly reported by
statement givers was that of “tabay.” Several statement givers
witnessed or were subjected to this practice, which involves
tying a person with his hands behind his back so tightly that his
chest protrudes—sometimes to the point of breaking the chest
cavity. 87 Tabay was occasionally followed by stabbing the victim’s
chest with a bayonet and causing it to explode. 88
Rebels often psychologically tortured victims, forcing them
to sing, dance, or cheer while witnessing the rape, torture, or
killing of their loved ones or themselves. 89 One victim described the layers of violence used by NPFL
rebels when they targeted her father, a superintendent in Bomi County:
The men told the father to dance and the townspeople to sing. There were
two sisters and two brothers there, also stripped. They told the children to
dance too. They told the father to drink dirty water…The rebels shot the
father many times and started cutting the sisters and brothers to pieces with
cutlasses. 90
The Armed Forces of Liberia Response
As the NPFL insurgency progressed, Doe directed the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) to respond with
violence in both Greater Liberia and Monrovia. Government forces engaged in a violent campaign
throughout the country, committing widespread killings in Monrovia, 91 as well as indiscriminately
shooting unarmed people in several villages, looting possessions, and burning homes. 92 Liberians,
particularly residents of Nimba County, were targeted for suspected opposition activity or ethnic
affiliation. Statements reveal that government forces deliberately sought out and persecuted Mano,
Gio, Americo-Liberians, and other suspected rebel supporters.
138
“[O]utrages upon personal
dignity, in particular humiliating
and degrading treatment, rape,
enforced prostitution and any
form or indecent assault” and any
threats thereof are prohibited
“at any time and in any place
whatsoever” during noninternational
armed conflicts.
Art. 4(2)(e), Protocol Additional
to the Geneva Conventions of
12 August 1949, and relating to
the Protection of Victims of Non-
International Armed Conflicts.
States Parties are “to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its
jurisdiction” civil and political rights, “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” Art 2(1).
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.