After much pressure from the Sweden based International...

After much pressure from the Sweden based International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in collaboration with Forum of Conscience (FOC), a locally based Human Rights organization, the Sierra Leone government has enacted legislation for Sierra Leoneans to enjoy the Right of Appeal as regards the death penalty.
The move followed a workshop held in Pretoria South Africa, from April 29 to May 4, 2002 on the theme, "Human Right Litigation in Africa". Organized by ICJ, the workshop drew participants from Human Rights Organizations across Africa. Sierra Leone was represented by legal practitioner Maclean Thomas, in his capacity as Director of Human Rights Litigation Department of the Forum of Conscience (FOC) who said that his organization filed a complaint to the Institute for HR and Development in Africa, about the conduct of the Court Martial which found guilty and executed 24 soldiers in 1998, noting the absence of the Right of Appeal.
He said that FOC viewed this as a gross violation of the Right to Life, as enshrined in the African Charter of HR, adding that the 'soldiers too deserve equal treatment before the law, as they are also citizens of the republic of Sierra Leone'. Before his presentation, lawyer Thomas disclosed that FOC had made several representations to key government functionaries leading to the dispatch of a delegation from the African Commission of Human Rights to Sierra Leone, which delegation made representations to government officials, including the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
This move, he said, has resulted in the enactment of the Right of Appeal for soldiers, thereby tremendously uplifting Human Rights in Sierra Leone. The organizers, who described Sierra Leone as a "success story", appraised this development, lawyer Thomas added.
"This has placed Sierra Leone on a good international footing with respect to abiding to the African Charter of HR and brings hope that with time, our HR record would grow to the heights of the US and Britain", lawyer Thomas averred.