Allen White, a U.S.-based war crimes investigator with longstanding ties to Liberia’s postwar justice efforts, has been found guilty by a Swiss court of criminal defamation against renowned justice advocate Alain Werner.
The verdict, handed down by the Criminal Division of the Jura-Bernois-Seeland Regional Court in the canton of Berne, upholds an August 2024 decision by the public prosecutor’s office. White, who previously served as chief investigator for the Special Court for Sierra Leone and has more recently operated as a lobbyist involved in Liberian politics, was convicted in absentia. He did not appear in court.
The defamation case centered on a 2019 email White sent to a Swiss lawyer, in which he accused Werner, director of Switzerland-based Civitas Maxima, and Hassan Bility, head of Liberia’s Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP), of enriching themselves by fabricating testimonies against accused war criminals. White alleged the two had made “millions of euros” by targeting Liberians abroad through false witness statements.
The court ruled that the claims, which were echoed by White and his associates in multiple public forums, including in the U.S., had no merit. The judgment noted that the allegations had already been investigated and dismissed by authorities in both Europe and the United States.
The ruling may still be challenged within ten days, either through a formal appeal or a motion opposing the in absentia decision. White, who is based in Texas, has not commented publicly on the ruling and did not respond to requests for comment, consistent with his past refusals to address the allegations.
Bility: “A Victory for True Justice”
Reacting to the court’s decision, Hassan Bility hailed the ruling as a powerful rejection of what he described as efforts to undermine the pursuit of accountability for victims of Liberia’s civil wars.
“This is a victory of true justice over the attempted commercialization of the pains of the victims of the two Liberian civil wars by lobbyists who had wrongly thought they could lead the Liberian people through a dark tunnel, the end of which only they could see,” Bility said in a WhatsApp message. “Our commitment to justice has been further strengthened.”
Bility, a torture survivor and former journalist who endured captivity during the war, vowed never to allow the pursuit of justice to be reduced to profit-making. “Such noble goal cannot be exchanged for profit,” he added.
Controversial Role in Liberian Politics
Allen White’s role in Liberia has often been polarizing. In January 2024, he met with newly inaugurated President Joseph Boakai, an encounter that raised eyebrows among local and international war crimes court advocates. U.S. Congressman Chris Smith told a congressional hearing that White was seen as “a trusted adviser” to Boakai and had been personally asked to assist in the establishment of a war crimes tribunal. The claim was later disputed by advocates who fear external influences could derail the Liberian-led accountability process.
White’s political entanglements go further. In 2021, investigative reporting by Front Page Africa revealed that the Liberian Renaissance Office Inc., a lobbying firm co-owned by White, had received $180,000 to represent a coalition of Liberian opposition parties in the U.S. The deal involved figures such as Benoni Urey, Alexander Cummings, and others, and was intended to secure American support for the opposition alliance. The firm was then headed by Sylvester Grigsby, who now serves as Minister of State for Presidential Affairs.
Mounting International Criticism
White’s credibility has faced growing scrutiny in recent years. In 2024, Beth Van Schaack, the former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, sharply criticized White for making “unsubstantiated allegations” against human rights defenders during a congressional committee hearing in Washington, D.C.
Justice advocates say the Swiss ruling should serve as a wake-up call against efforts to politicize or profiteer from Liberia’s justice process.
“There’s no room for colonialism in this process,” Bility declared. “We were the victims, and we (the Liberian people) will lead the process. There’s no middle ground in this one.”
With the scars of Liberia’s bloody civil conflicts still fresh for many, the path to justice remains fragile, and fiercely contested. But this ruling, say observers, signals a firm rebuke of attempts to derail it.
Source: FPA/New Narrative
