EFFORTPOST Rebels interrogate and torture Samuel Doe (1990) - ex-president of Liberia, whose rule abroad was seen as a brutal and corrupt one Two vids, 15 and 10 mins [mostly emotional torture, and cutting off the ears - no death on-screen!], body photo, and context explained

TL;DR. The videos in this post show the interrogation and some torture of Samuel Kanyon Doe (born 6th of May 1950/51, died on 9/10th of September 1990). He was a member of the Krahn (Wee) tribe and enlisted in the army when 18 yo, ending up as a master sergeant in 1979. In April 1980, he led an attack, with another Krahn soldiers, on the Liberian executive mansion, killing President William R. Tolbert. Later, 13 prominent Tolbert associates were tried and executed. After the coup, Doe assumed the rank of general and established the People's Redemption Council (PRC). It ruled the party until 1985, when Doe became president of Liberia - after an election that some claimed to be fraudulent. Abroad, Doe's rule was described as corrupt and brutal, and the economic conditions were deteriorating. Doe's life was threatened on a regular basis by assassination attempts and plots, suppressed with outstanding brutality. He was also clearly favoring his own Krahn tribe members. In late 1989, a rebellion sparked against him. By July 1990, the rebel forces had advanced into the capital (Monrovia), but Doe refused to yield power. The civil war continued, and two months later, he was captured and assassinated - after a torture, which was partially videotaped.

In the second video, the dialogue is more clear. In the first one, though, the white noise distorts the dialogues really much. At some points, it's even hard to tell that they speak English (which is an official language in Liberia). Country and its capital:

⠀VIDEOS AND COMMENTS

• First video (15 mins, 78 MB). 9th of September 1990, Bushrod Island clinic in Monrovia. Shows 'interrogation' and, at the end, cutting off ear. The man behind the desk is Prince Yomi Johnson, chilling out with a Budweiser and a maid fanning him (like in 7;30). You can see at the end that Doe was already tortured before the recording. In this video, first good screams of pain begin around 13;20, and cutting off the ears - around 14;10.

Bushrod Island was a suburb of a Monrovia controlled by Johnson's rebels for the two months before the Doe's capture (as the rebel forces advanced into the capital in July 1990). Quotes on the video's content, some of which is not clear when you watch it first time or at all:

The president is almost spent, but the worst is yet to come. He is shirtless, with no trousers, his white underpants soaked in blood. His gris-gris has been ripped off. His eyes are wide open and his legs are already gone: a round of Kalashnikovs severed them from his body. Doe lies on the floor of this dingy office, surrounded by overexcited soldiers, begging. He is ready to give up everything: his fortune, the caches where his relatives are hiding, his bank account numbers and even his power – if he has any left.

The soldiers bully him, we don't even know what they really want. Is it Doe's pleas or the sneers of his torturers? You can't hear anything in the small room at the Bushrod Island clinic in Monrovia. Amidst the hubbub, one journalist hands a microphone to the head of state, another films the scene.

The next day, 9 September 1990, the recording became a best-seller in Monrovia's markets. It is not often that one witnesses the killing of a president.

Doe has been whimpering in front of him for almost 15 minutes. Enough is enough. His men rush to the president: they cut off one of his ears...Doe has no lower limbs, then his genitals are crushed and, after a sip of Budweiser, his ears are cut off. Why? No one really knows, and it goes on for hours.

Reportedly, a marshal of INPFL (Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia - rebel group) was heard on walkie-talkie, trying to contact someone in the American embassy, in vain.

Explanation about the ear-cutting significance:

“You know why I did this to Samuel Doe? In my county of Nimba [in the north of the country], years before, he and his men killed 300 babies. Just before they were executed, they were screaming, but Doe did not hear their pleas. So I cut off his ears,” Prince Johnson told us in 2018, from his posh Monrovia office. Liberia's most notorious murderer has never expressed an ounce of remorse.

Samuel Doe at his office in Monrovia, 1990:

• Second video (10 mins, 40 MB). Shows Doe interrogated outside while naked. Now dialogue is definitely more audible. It's about where did Doe keep money. He claims that on a foreign bank account (it was Swiss), and he doesn't know the number.

⠀WHAT NEXT?

It was right at the beginning of the First Civil War in Liberia. It started with an uprising against Samuel Doe in 1989, led by Charles Taylor. The first (1989-1997) and second (1999-2003) civil wars resulted in the deaths of around 250,000 people, roughly 8% of the population. In 1997, Taylor became a president after a peace deal. However, two new rebel groups emerged in 1999, and the war was reignited. Taylor stepped down and went into exile in 2003, ahead of a peace deal.

The exact moment of Doe's death in 1990 wasn't filmed. For the next few days, the president's body was displayed by Prince Johnson's rebels. They were parading the body through the streets of Monrovia in a wheelbarrow. Reportedly, the crowd was delighted. It was also displayed (not sure at which time?) in the Island Clinic area. Immediately after Doe's death, Johnson declared himself head of state. He had really mixed opinions, from the fear of his 'psychopathic' behavior to the appreciation of his humanitarian actions. The tape showing the torture was sold in copies in some Western African countries, and short clips were broadcast in the British news.

Aftermath:

Quote from 2011 on Johnson's view:

When asked about a widely circulated video showing Johnson sipping beer while watching his fighters mutilate Doe after his capture, Johnson said the clip was “unfortunate.”

“We are remorseful. I am a civil servant to my people, I am senator, I am a humanitarian ... and I am a changed person.”

⠀SOURCES

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-K-Doe

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56128139 (very basic info on the civil wars + an article about why there's no prosecution on war crimes in Liberia)

https://www.theafricareport.com/144562/pt-5-liberia-samuel-doe-death-washed-down-with-budweiser (quote on 1st video)

https://www.reuters.com/article/liberia-election-kingmaker-idAFL5E7LE2HS20111014

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-11-mn-206-story.html

https://www.google.pl/books/edition/Liberia/r6qZMoquA28C On page 130, there's a body photo. There's also explanation of the circumstances surrounding a capture of Samuel Doe, for these more caring about the story.