A war and economic crimes investigator based In Washington DC, Mr. Al Smith, has urged the US House of Representatives and Senate Oversight Committees to launch investigations into two organizations allegedly involved in a criminal conspiracy. These organizations are Civitas Maxima, led by Werner, based in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Global Justice Research Project, led by Hassan Bility, based in Monrovia, Liberia.
According to Mr. Smith, these organizations have been engaged in a malicious prosecution and false imprisonment scheme targeting former Liberian actors involved in the Liberian civil wars. He claims that the motive behind these actions is both personal and financial gain.
Mr. Smith highlights the recent false and malicious prosecution of Gbril Massaquoi as an example. Massaquoi had been acquitted twice for false allegations allegedly made by Werner and Bility to the Finnish government. The District Court and Appeals Court discovered two years’ worth of false statements, false information, and false testimony provided by witnesses who were allegedly coached by Bility and Werner to lie.
Mr. Smith points out that Bility has a history of providing false testimony at international trials, which has been highlighted on numerous occasions. Even the judges presiding over the Massaquoi trial expressed their disbelief in Bility’s credibility due to the frequent changes in his story.
As with the trial before a Finnish district court, acquittal hearings for Gibril Massaquoi, the Sierra Leonean accused of grave human rights violations in Liberia, bribery allegations have begun to dog his acquittal hearings.
“L-1,” a witness, did not mince his words when he told the Turku Appeals Court Hassan Bility, a top Liberian human rights advocate, offered him $US200 five years ago as an inducement to testify against alleged war perpetrators George Boley, Alieu Kosiah and Mr Massaquoi, Mohammed Jabateh, commonly known as “Jungle Jabbah” and Agnes Reeves Taylor.
“When Hassan came back from the US, he picked me up from N-Zoe to go for a meeting at Mamba Point,” said L-1. “During that meeting, He (Hassan) wanted me to go and testify against people that fought the war and say those people killed people, opened people’s stomachs, and a whole lot of things, but I told him no.”
Mr Bility heads the Global Justice and Research Project, which partners with Civitas Maxima, a Swiss-based human rights nonprofit to help people claiming to be Liberian witnesses to formally complain against alleged warlords to European and American justice authorities.
During the trial, witnesses revealed that both Bility and Werner had urged them to provide false testimony. Many succumbed to the temptation due to their dire financial situations. Mr. Smith emphasizes that the average Liberian lives on less than $1 a day, making offers of several hundred or thousand US dollars highly enticing. Over the past decade, Bility and Werner have amassed millions of dollars and euros through this criminal conspiracy.
Mr. Smith said one of the most egregious cases involved the false accusations made against Michel Desaedeleer, a US and Belgian citizen. Werner, Bility, and the Center for Justice and Accountability accused Desaedeleer of heinous crimes, including rape, murder, and cannibalism. These accusations were proven to be entirely false, but the information provided by Werner and Bility led to Desaedeleer’s arrest in Belgium. Tragically, overwhelmed by distress and humiliation, Desaedeleer took his own life, leaving his family devastated.
According to Mr. Smith, despite the mounting evidence of fraud and conspiracy, Bility and Werner have yet to face any consequences for their actions. Mr. Smith urges the US Congress to actively investigate the involvement of the US government with individuals engaged in such malicious prosecutions.
He said of particular concern is Ambassador Beth Van Schaack, who is in charge of the Office of Global Criminal Justice at the US Department of State. Mr. Smith points out that she reportedly invited Bility to the US and worked with Werner and Bility on the Desaedeleer case.
In 2023, the US State Department wrote a letter to the US Department of Justice, warning them about the allegations of coaching witnesses to provide false information, statements, and testimony. Despite this knowledge, Van Schaack continues to promote the image and credibility of Werner and Bility.
Currently, Bility and Werner are facing a civil lawsuit in Liberia filed by Agnes Reeves Taylor, who accuses them of lying in a British court. Reeves Taylor is seeking damages for the harm caused by their actions. Bility and Warner have consistently denied paying and coaching witnesses.
