Ibrahim ("Brima") Bazzy Kamara (born 7 May 1968 in

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

) was a commander of the soldiers of the Sierra Leonean Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and in 2007 was convicted of committing war crimes and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

in the Sierra Leone Civil War. Kamara was born in the neighborhood of Wilberforce, in the west end of

. In 1998, Kamara was invited by

Johnny Paul Koroma Major Johnny Paul Koroma (born 9 May 1960; declared dead 1 June 2003) was the head of state of Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998. Youth and education Koroma was born to Limba people (Sierra Leone), Limba parents in Tombodu, in the ...

to join the AFRC Supreme Council. In this capacity, Kamara was a commander of the AFRC and Revolutionary United Front forces that attacked civilians in the north, east, and centre of Sierra Leone in 1998 and in

in January 1999.Trial Watch: Brima Bazzy Kamara, Facts
. Kamara was indicted on 7 March 2003, was arrested on 29 May 2003, and his trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone began on 7 March 2005.Trial Watch: Brima Bazzy Kamara, Legal Procedures
. He was tried with

Alex Tamba Brima Alex Tamba Brima (23 November 1971 – 9 June 2016), also known as Gullit, was a Sierra Leonean military commander. He was one of a group of seventeen soldiers in the Sierra Leone Armed Forces who called themselves Armed Forces Revolutionary Cou ...

and Santigie Borbor Kanu. Kamara was found guilty of

and war crimes on 20 June 2007, including counts of murder, rape, forced labour, and the use of

child soldiers Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, includ ...

."First S Leone war crimes verdicts"
''BBC News'', 20 June 2007. He and his codefendants' convictions were the first convictions for the Special Court for Sierra Leone and were also the first time anyone had been convicted of the international crime of using child soldiers. On 19 July 2007, Kamara was sentenced to 45 years' imprisonment. He is serving his sentence in Mpanga Prison in

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

."Sierra Leone court sends convicts to Rwandan prison"
Reuters, 31 October 2009.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamara, Brima Bazzy 1968 births Living people People convicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone People indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone Sierra Leonean military personnel Sierra Leonean people convicted of war crimes Sierra Leonean people convicted of crimes against humanity Sierra Leonean people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Rwanda People from Freetown