Special Court Opens Investigation Into Pirated Videos

Freetown, Sierra Leone, 11 August 2010 – The Special Court for Sierra Leone has opened an investigation into pirated videos of the Taylor trial which are being sold on the streets in Sierra Leone and Liberia. (Photo: Justice Jon Kamanda, Special Court President)

The video summaries, which are produced by the Outreach and Public Affairs Office, are used by Outreach staff and by the Court’s Civil Society partners in Sierra Leone and Liberia to keep citizens of those countries informed of the progress of the trial, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1688.

The videos are distributed free of charge.

Special Court President Justice Jon Kamanda noted that the use of Special Court videos without permission is not only illegal, but that the use of only selected older videos could give a distorted view of the progress of the trial.

“The packaging on the videos suggests that they are being produced and sold by the Special Court, which is false and, if unrefuted, could damage the reputation of the Court,” Justice Kamanda said.

The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities in Freetown.

The videos appear to have been edited to add subtitles. Special Court Registrar said the Court was concerned other edits may have been made to the videos by addition or deletion of material. “There is a danger that these videos are not an accurate portrayal of the Taylor trial,” she said.

Outreach and Public Affairs Office, Special Court for Sierra Leone

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