A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

Those responsible for the detention of
persons, who are deprived of their liberty
for reasons associated with armed conflict,
shall seek to respect, within the limits of their
capabilities, that their “physical or mental
health and integrity shall not be endangered
by any unjustified act or omission…” Art.
5(2)(e), Protocol Additional to the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to
the Protection of Victims of Non-International
Armed Conflicts.
Monrovia on an ECOMOG ship. Prince Johnson
and his men boarded the ship where the refugees
were waiting. Prince Johnson reportedly sat in a
chair on top of a table, playing a guitar and singing,
while his soldiers randomly killed people. The
statement giver said she overheard Prince Johnson
state, “Take them to the base. Feel free, this is
Liberia, anyone can be your president and the next
morning you will be executed.” 119
Other statement givers related how Prince Johnson
played a direct role in perpetrating violations, either by carrying out the atrocities himself or ordering
his fighters to do so. A statement giver described how INPFL rebels beat his father so severely he
could no longer speak, at which point Prince Johnson took out a pistol, shot his father in the head,
and left. 120 One statement giver described how in July 1990 Prince Johnson sought revenge against his
father for winning a lawsuit against him:
Prince Johnson and his men came to our house and asked us out. He told my
father that his time was finished. He ordered his men to beat my father after
he wounded me on my head [and I was] on the ground bleeding. They beat
my father to death. That day Prince Johnson was dressed in blue jeans with
a red t-shirt--written on it “Freedom Fighter.” After my father was killed, I
was ordered to go to the Caldwell base with them. 121
The INPFL often arrested and detained people
at Caldwell, where they would be tortured,
sometimes to the point of death. 122 Statement
givers described the atrocities that took place
at the INPFL base, including “manhandling of
people; severe torture; summary executions.” 123
One Krahn statement giver was forcibly
conscripted and taken to Caldwell base where
he was trained to fight. 124 The statement giver
described the conditions and treatment he
experienced at Caldwell:
We were arrested by the INPFL and taken on their base. I personally was
tortured because of tribal affiliation. I was kept in prison for about 6 days
without food. I only survived on mere rain water. While in the process of
142
Persons detained due to reasons associated with
the armed conflict shall “to the same extent
as the local civilian population, be provided
with food and drinking water and be afforded
safeguards as regards health and hygiene and
protection against the rigours of the climate and
the dangers of the armed conflict…” Art. 5(1)(b),
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of
12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of
Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts.