By: Al Smith,
Criminal Justice, Homeland Security & Counter-Terrorism Expert Washington, D.C.–based Investigator
Intelligence reports compiled by Al Smith and by Gibril Massaquoi’s defense team indicate that, since 2015, Civitas Maxima, led by Alain Werner, has allegedly coached and financed witnesses to testify against Massaquoi, a former witness of the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone who later relocated to Finland. According to these reports, seven witnesses in Sierra Leone and Europe were funded and prepared to claim that Massaquoi commanded forces in Lunsar and ordered the 1999 killing of Spanish and American journalists near Mamusa and Rogberi Junction.
The witnesses were allegedly coached to state that Massaquoi was second-in-command to Dennis Mingo, known as “Superman,” who led the RUF Battle Group in Lunsar before his death in 2001. Werner is said to have directed these testimonies, channeling money through his staff, with several statements reportedly recorded at a hotel in Freetown. Most of the witnesses were described as former bodyguards of Superman. The defense further suggests that Werner sought to persuade relocated witnesses in Canada and Europe to testify against Massaquoi—efforts that were refused—and that he issued threats when they declined, indicating organised misconduct.
According to these intelligence reports, Werner had received substantial sums in Dollars and Euros from the families of the journalists and sought to implicate Massaquoi in an effort to appease them. However, this strategy was ultimately unsuccessful. Witnesses
informed Werner that Massaquoi had been released from Pademba Road Prison in Freetown in January 1999 and had not held a military position within the RUF since 1996,
prior to the Abidjan Peace Accord. During that earlier period, Massaquoi was ill and transported by the ICRC to Abidjan for medical treatment. Upon his recovery, Foday Sankoh appointed him as RUF spokesperson because of his abilities, while the then spokesman, Fayiah Musa, was already engaged in peace negotiations in Freetown.
Werner was also reportedly advised—and was aware—that Massaquoi enjoyed immunity from the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) for all actions carried out in Sierra Leone during the conflict from 1996 onward. Furthermore, under the Abidjan Accord, the United Nations provided amnesty to all combatants, including both army and RUF members, for activities in Sierra Leone from 1991 through 30 November 1996.
Despite being aware of these details, Werner is said to have chosen not to address them because of his focus on commercial interests. The SCSL investigated the incident and found that the journalists had been transported in an ECOMOG-emblazoned military vehicle to the front line, where they encountered a defensive ambush by the Revolutionary
United Front (RUF). This operation was part of an effort to retake territory previously lost to the RUF, even though a ceasefire had been declared in May 1999 between Sankoh, the RUF leader, and President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone.ECOMOG had claimed that these territories were no longer under RUF control—a position
later disputed. The journalists were not travelling in vehicles marked with journalistic insignia but instead accompanied ECOMOG forces as they advanced into RUF-held areas.
During this period, the Nigerian contingent of ECOMOG, which assumed full responsibility for escorting the journalists, maintained that no Nigerian army personnel involved in peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone would be surrendered to stand trial before the SCSL. This position was communicated by Nigeria’s Commander-in-Chief and
relayed to SCSL officials through President Kabbah. As a result, Massaquoi has been positioned as the primary individual responsible, even though, according to these reports, he neither held a military rank nor issued orders related to the ambush. Nevertheless, Massaquoi and his legal team remain prepared to address the allegations advanced by Werner and Civitas Maxima, whom they believe are attempting to rectify perceived failures in prior proceedings. Notably, Al Smith is said to have advised Massaquoi and his defence counsel months in advance about the strategy now attributed to Civitas Maxima. Massaquoi’s team has reviewed the available information and stands ready to respond.
According to the author, this pattern mirrors what Werner and Civitas Maxima allegedly did in the case of Martina Johnson in Belgium. Witnesses reportedly coached by Werner failed to secure her conviction on war-crimes charges relating to Liberia, and she was released. The author contends that Werner and his team then attempted to proceed against her a second time in Belgium with additional witnesses, but that effort failed because the Belgian police were no longer prepared to rely on information originating from Civitas Maxima and its director.
Similarly, the author asserts that in the United Kingdom, Agnes Reeves was arrested and tried on allegations that she ordered the killing of Margibi County Superintendent Amos Bohn in Liberia in 1992, based on testimony and evidence supplied by Civitas Maxima and the Global Justice Research Project (GJRP). She was released after approximately 27 months in custody when Bohn was discovered alive in the United Kingdom.
According to this account, Civitas Maxima and GJRP then attempted a second case against Reeves. It is alleged that in February 2020, Darius Tweh and others were flown to Ghana to provide statements coached by Hassan Bility and GJRP in order to have Reeves rearrested. Tweh is said to have later disclosed this scheme after returning to Liberia,
reportedly because Bility failed to honour promises he had made to him. In the author’s view, it is now the turn of Gibril Massaquoi. Civitas Maxima, described as humiliated by Massaquoi’s acquittals and the courts’ findings that he was not in Liberia committing mass killings, is again accused of fabricating a case against him. In Finland,
Werner and Bility presented evidence claiming that Massaquoi was in Liberia killing hundreds of people; Bility himself appeared as a star witness. His testimony—given multiple times before both the District Court and the Court of Appeal—was found, in the court’s verdicts of 2022 and 2024, to contain significant inconsistencies and changes and referred to by the judges as “debilitating”.
The author contends that Werner is now assembling new allegations in an effort to have Massaquoi rearrested for a second time. Because Werner and Civitas Maxima allegedly could not credibly tie Massaquoi to crimes in Liberia, they have reverted to the earlier theory that he was responsible for the killing of Spanish and American journalists in Sierra Leone in 1999. This, the author suggests, is a strategy to mask their own embarrassment
and reputational damage. The father of the deceased Spanish journalist—now himself deceased—is said to have
given hundreds of thousands of Euros to Werner and Civitas Maxima, based on their promise to bring his son’s killer to justice. Werner reportedly asserted that the responsible person could only be Gibril Massaquoi. The author claims that Werner collected multiple statements in Sierra Leone and Europe, which he still holds and intends to use against Massaquoi.
The author questions why, if since 2015 Werner had such statements, he did not bring charges earlier. The explanation offered is that these statements were “fabrications” rather than truthful accounts. Werner is now alleged to have returned to these coached witnesses—some of whom refused to join his Liberia-related scheme and told him their involvement would be based on lies against Massaquoi, whom they insisted was never in Liberia fighting. One witness reportedly told Werner to leave him out of the Liberia case after refusing to cooperate in giving false testimony.
At present, Werner is said to be operating in the background, encouraging the brother of the deceased Spanish journalist, Álvaro Gil Moreno de Mora, along with his two sisters and their elderly mother, María, to seek extradition of Massaquoi to Spain through proceedings before the European Court, relying on the earlier statements from witnesses in Sierra Leone and Europe. It remains unclear whether those witnesses will again participate
in what the author characterizes as a money-making scheme. According to the author, Massaquoi is now more prepared than ever, with dozens of witnesses ready to defend him against what is described as Werner’s ongoing “criminal enterprise” presented under the guise of human-rights advocacy.
The author further alleges that this is the same Alain Werner who introduced what he calls “gangsterism” into the ranks of the prosecuting lawyers at the SCSL, because Werner wanted matters handled his own way when the time came to appoint a new Chief Prosecutor after Dr David Crane’s departure. Werner allegedly rallied other lawyers to sign protest documents opposing the elevation of the substantive Deputy Chief Prosecutor to Chief Prosecutor, but his efforts failed.
In a direct address, the author tells Werner that, whatever he does, “the whole world” has seen what is described as his “criminal adventurism” against Massaquoi, showing that Massaquoi was never in Liberia and that Werner brought forward witnesses whom he had allegedly spoon-fed. This, the author emphasizes, includes his deputy, Hassan Bility, whose stories about torture at Klay reportedly changed multiple times under oath, tantamount to perjury.
The actions of Werner and Bility came into sharp focus during the Massaquoi trial, which centred on their alleged criminal activity. Initially, Bility told Finnish authorities that Massaquoi had tortured him in August 2002, leading to an indictment. However, evidence showed Massaquoi was in Sierra Leone at that time, so the date of the accusation was changed. Later, Bility testified under oath that he was tortured by Massaquoi at Klay prison on July 26, 2002. When records indicated Massaquoi wasn’t present, Bility revised his statement, claiming instead that a female, acting on
Massaquoi’s orders, had tortured him. Once it became clear no woman was in the prison, Bility altered his testimony yet again, stating he was tortured by someone he didn’t know but believed the act was carried out under Massaquoi’s instructions. Such drastic changes in testimony are considered perjury under international law.
The Judges further determined that it was not credible for an individual to introduce themselves using both their real name and an alias simultaneously, as this would negate the intended purpose of an alias. In addition, the Special Court for Sierra Leone found no evidence that the alias “Angel Gabriel” had been used in any statements or documents
used by the SCSL. A Accordingly, if “Angel Gabriel” was neither used by Massaquoi nor by any other party, the only reasonable explanation for its appearance in written statements or testimony would be if individuals were directed to reference it. A comparable methodology was noted in the case of Agnes Reeves Taylor, where witnesses asserted recall of her alleged criminal activities from decades prior by associating her with the distinctive alias “Massa Musa,” despite the fact that neither she nor others had actually used this moniker. This strategy enabled witnesses to claim recollection of atrocities connected to the accused, even after a lapse of 20 years.
It was ultimately established that Massaquoi was not present in Liberia during the period when the alleged crimes occurred. The case was not dismissed due to insufficient evidence but rather because the judges found the charges of torture unsubstantiated; key testimonies were deemed unreliable, particularly regarding the alias “Angel Gabriel,” which was determined not to exist and thus raised concerns about witness coaching. The judge is acknowledged that crimes did take place; however, they concluded Massaquoi could not have been responsible as he was not in Liberia at the relevant time. A German journalist Johannes Böhme further corroborated these findings by visiting locations associated with the accusations and reporting that local residents had no knowledge of Gbril Massaquoi or “Angel Gabriel.” Instead, the acts described were attributed to Zazay Maza, not Massaquoi.
Here is a translated excerpt from Johannes Böhme’s article “Der Fall Massaquoi: Ein Ex Rebell vor Gericht” published in ZEIT ONLINE on April 6, 2023, focusing on his reporting trip to Lofa County, Liberia:
Translated Excerpt (English):
“In Lofa County, where many of the alleged crimes were said to have taken place, I spoke
with numerous residents. None of them had ever heard of Gibril Massaquoi or the
nickname ‘Angel Gabriel.’ Instead, they consistently named another man: ZayZay Maza.
According to their accounts, it was he—not Massaquoi—who had committed the atrocities.
The consistency of these testimonies was striking.”
“What astonished me most was that neither the Finnish prosecutors nor the investigators
from Civitas Maxima had ever traveled to Lofa County to verify these claims. It seemed
inconceivable that such a critical location in the indictment had been left unexplored.”
Smith asserts that Werner and Bility are “failures” whose conduct has been exposed in the Finnish proceedings, and asserts that any renewed attempt against Massaquoi will meet the same fate. According to this view, their “second-step secrets” are already understood and will lead to an even more decisive defeat than before. Werner and Bility need to be held accountable for the actions and defrauding governments into maliciously prosecuting
individuals for fame and fortune. To date, Werner has accumulated nearly $14 million dollars from donors according to a review of his own published Annual Reports.
About the Author Al Smith is a Criminal Justice, Homeland Security, and Counter-Terrorism expert with advanced degrees in International Security, Global Conflict Resolution, and Criminal Justice. He holds certifications from the U.S. Department of Defense and other agencies.
Academic Credentials
– M.A. in International Relations & Global Security (Conflict Resolution), American Military University
– M.S. in Criminal Justice (Homeland Security), Colorado Technical University- B.S. in Criminal Justice (Homeland Security & Emergency Management), Strayer University
– A.A. in Criminal Justice, Everest College, Mr Smith served on two NATO deployments under the U.S. Department of Defense in Force Protection Operations, including participation in the joint construction protection of the 44th U.S. Presidential Inaugural Grandstand
