War crimes trial of Sierra Leone ex-rebel starts in Finland

The war crimes trial of a Sierra Leonean former rebel commander has started in Finland, the AFP news agency reports. 

The prosecution alleges that Gibril Massaquoi - allegedly known by the moniker "Angel Gabriel" - and rebels under his command carried out a litany of killings, rape and torture in Liberia between 1999 and 2003, AFP reports. 

He denies the charges. 

Massaquoi was once the spokesman of Sierra Leone's Revolutionary Democratic Front (RUF) and has been living in Finland since 2008. 

Thousands of people were killed in the brutal civil war in Liberia and Sierra Leone. 

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: Liberia Observer