RSCSL Grants Gbao Conditional Early Release with Three-Month Delay [1]
On September 8, 2020, the President of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone granted [3] Augustine Gbao early release, with a three-month delay. Gbao was convicted on fourteen counts of crimes against humanity by the Court on March 2, 2009, and sentenced to twenty-five years of imprisonment on April 8, 2009. The Court’s Practice Direction on Conditional Early Release [4] permits consideration for early release if certain conditions are fulfilled. According to a press release [5] from the Court, in this case, the Court ordered Gbao to “undergo specific training geared to his understanding of and acceptance of responsibility for the harm he inflicted by his crimes” during the three-month delay. Once it is confirmed that his training is complete, he will be allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence in his community, under strict monitoring. He has just under seven years remaining in his sentence. The Court imposed additional conditions on his release, including that Gbao give a radio and television apology to the victims of his crimes, and to Sierra Leone generally, in which he must accept responsibility for his actions, express remorse, commit to the reparations and peace process in Sierra Leone, and not associate with former combatants or people convicted by the Special Court.