[1] On 10 November 2014, Swiss authorities arrested Kosiah in connection with accusations that he was involved in mass killings in parts of Liberia's Lofa County from 1993 to 1995.
[2] On 22 March 2019, after five years of criminal investigation, the Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) indicted Kosiah for war crimes, after hearing testimony from over 25 witnesses and victims.
In March 2020, due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, and the increasing measures being imposed by the Swiss authorities in response to the pandemic, the FCC announced that the trial of Alieu Kosiah, former ULIMO commander, was postponed again.
[6] On 2 March, the victims’ lawyers began their joint plea and, with the help of a detailed chronology, Raphaël Jakob tried to show that the various explanations given by the accused do not hold water.
"In addition to the convincing testimonies of our clients, historical sources confirm the explanations of the plaintiffs and show that the group to which Mr. Kosiah belonged was on the spot at the time of the worst abuses and systematic looting of the region," he argued.
The defence counsel concentrated on trying to show various contradictions in the testimony of the civil parties – for example, the fact that "one of the plaintiffs says that Kosiah was wearing a military jacket, but this outfit is in no way adapted to the climate.