The Sierra Leone Advocacy Movement–Global (SLAM-Global) has called on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to undertake an independent assessment of allegations of unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, possible official complicity in organised crime and persistent impunity in Sierra Leone.
In an open letter, dated 27 October 2026 and addressed to the Office of the Prosecutor at The Hague, the advocacy organisation requested and drmaned that credible information relating to alleged human rights violations and possible crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction be assessed in accordance with international law.
The letter, being directed to the Evidence and Discovery Management Unit, comes days after the ICC’s high level regional seminar held in Freetown, on 22 and 23 October 2026. SLAM-Global said it welcomed the Court’s engagement with Sierra Leone and the government’s public reaffirmation of its commitment to international justice.
However, the organisation argued that commitments made at conferences and public events must translate into meaningful accountability for victims and families seeking answers about deaths, disappearances and alleged abuses.
Represented by its Director-General, Dr Alfred A. Veenod Fullah, SLAM-Global stressed that its appeal was neither partisan nor an attempt to pronounce any individual guilty. Rather, it said it wanted credible allegations to be examined independently, evidence preserved and the law enforced without fear or favour.
A major concern raised in the letter relates to deaths recorded during confrontations between civilians and state security personnel since April 2018.
SLAM-Global identified the Sahn Malen incidents of 2019, the Tombo and Makeni disturbances and Pademba Road prison deaths of 2020, the August 2022 demonstrations, and reported fatal shootings during the 2023 election period as incidents requiring careful consideration.
According to the organisation, human rights groups, official reports and independent observers have raised concerns about the use of lethal force, the adequacy of investigations and the availability of effective remedies for affected families.
The letter nevertheless acknowledged that some of the incidents involved violence against police officers, attacks on public facilities and serious threats to public order. It maintained that such offences also require accountability.
Its central argument is that maintaining public order must not remove the state’s obligation to protect human life, use force lawfully and proportionately, and investigate suspected unlawful killings independently.
SLAM-Global therefore wants any available evidence examined to determine whether the incidents involved isolated violations, failures of command and supervision, or a broader pattern of conduct potentially relevant to international criminal law. The request does not establish that any of the incidents constituted international crimes. Instead, it raises questions about whether the available evidence warrants further legal assessment.
The organisation also highlighted an investigative report published by The Guardian on 14 October 2026 concerning alleged cocaine-trafficking operations associated with Dutch fugitive Jos Leijdekkers.
As described in the open letter, the report raised allegations of abductions, disappearances, suspicious deaths, interference with police investigations and possible protection of criminal actors by individuals connected to powerful institutions.
SLAM-Global drew particular attention to the reported disappearance of Alan Jalloh and others in October 2025, alongside allegations involving other deaths whose circumstances, it argued, warranted independent scrutiny.
The organisation emphasised that the allegations were not judicial findings of guilt and that anyone implicated must retain the right to due process and the presumption of innocence.
Nevertheless, it argued that allegations involving possible murder, enforced disappearance, intimidation or obstruction of investigations should not be dismissed simply because the people potentially implicated may have wealth, political influence or links to state institutions.
The letter asks the ICC Prosecutor to consider whether sufficiently corroborated information could warrant examination under the Rome Statute, including the legal requirements for crimes against humanity.
Such an assessment would require evidence of the relevant crimes and satisfaction of the applicable legal and jurisdictional conditions. The letter itself does not establish that those requirements have been met.
SLAM-Global further raised concerns about the reported interception of the Arconian, a vessel said to have departed Freetown before Spanish authorities discovered a substantial cocaine cargo in May 2026.
The organisation argued that the reported scale of the shipment raises questions about port controls, customs procedures, maritime security, possible financial flows and whether officials may have facilitated criminal activity or obstructed enforcement.
Importantly, the letter recognises that cocaine trafficking, by itself, does not ordinarily fall within the ICC’s jurisdiction.
Instead, SLAM-Global wants credible evidence of any links between organised criminal operations and acts potentially covered by the Rome Statute, including murder or enforced disappearance, to be evaluated under the appropriate legal standards.
It also called for cooperation with relevant national and international law-enforcement authorities to investigate the underlying trafficking allegations.
The distinction is significant. The ICC is not a general criminal court empowered to prosecute every serious offence committed in a country. Its mandate is limited to the crimes and jurisdictional conditions established by the Rome Statute.
Consequently, allegations of drug trafficking or corruption would not automatically trigger ICC action, although evidence connecting such activities to crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction could be relevant.
Beyond killings and disappearances, SLAM-Global used the letter to draw attention to Sierra Leone’s drug crisis, particularly the devastating consequences of Kush use among young people.
The organisation acknowledged that drug dependence, trafficking and failures in public health policy do not automatically constitute crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction.
However, it argued that these issues remain important to the broader national accountability debate because of their consequences for families, communities and young people.
The letter draws a distinction between the legal treatment of different tragedies and the equal value of human life. It observes that a family grieving a child allegedly killed unlawfully and a family mourning a child lost after struggling with drug dependence may face different circumstances, but neither family’s suffering should be treated as insignificant.
SLAM-Global therefore urged stronger domestic institutions capable of protecting life, preventing trafficking, providing effective treatment and ensuring access to justice. Its position is that the limits of international criminal jurisdiction should not be confused with the government’s wider responsibilities to its citizens.
Another central issue in the letter is the principle of complementarity under the Rome Statute, which gives national jurisdictions the primary responsibility for genuinely investigating and prosecuting crimes.
SLAM-Global questioned how many allegations of unlawful killings had been independently investigated, how many had resulted in disciplinary proceedings, prosecutions or final judgments, and what remedies had been made available to victims’ families.
It also raised questions about witness protection and whether allegations involving politically influential individuals had been treated according to the same standards applied to ordinary citizens.
The organisation described these questions as measurable tests of institutional effectiveness rather than political rhetoric.
It requested that the ICC Prosecutor assess available information about the genuineness of domestic investigations and proceedings where the underlying conduct potentially falls within the Court’s jurisdiction.
Under the Rome Statute, the ICC does not simply replace national courts whenever allegations of serious wrongdoing emerge. The legal assessment depends on factors including jurisdiction, admissibility and whether national proceedings are genuine.SLAM-Global’s appeal therefore places the effectiveness of domestic accountability mechanisms at the centre of its concerns.
In its formal requests, SLAM-Global asked the Office of the Prosecutor to receive and appropriately assess a properly supported communication concerning alleged crimes potentially within the Court’s jurisdiction.
It also sought guidance on established procedures for preserving and submitting witness statements, documentary records, forensic evidence and investigative findings.
The organisation further requested consideration of reported patterns of violence and disappearance, including credible evidence of possible involvement, authorisation, assistance or protection by state or non-state actors.
Other requests concerned complementarity, appropriate coordination or referral of matters outside the ICC’s mandate, and recognition of victims’ interests, including their safety, dignity, access to information and rights to effective remedies.
The organisation explicitly acknowledged that submitting information does not compel the opening of an investigation, establish individual criminal responsibility or guarantee that the Court has jurisdiction over the matters raised.
It said its objective was an impartial legal assessment rather than a predetermined conclusion.
In its concluding appeal, SLAM-Global argued that ordinary Sierra Leoneans judge justice not by the number of conferences held or declarations made, but by whether institutions deliver tangible results.
The letter gives voice to the concerns of grieving parents seeking answers about their children, families searching for missing relatives, young people requiring treatment for addiction and relatives of police officers killed in the line of duty who want those responsible held accountable.
It also raises the broader question of whether justice is applied equally to powerful and less influential citizens.
SLAM-Global welcomed the ICC’s presence in Freetown and Sierra Leone’s declared commitment to international justice. However, it maintained that international cooperation must ultimately protect people rather than merely celebrate institutions.
The organisation said it was not asking the ICC to condemn Sierra Leone or pursue a political party. Instead, it wants evidence examined without intimidation, concealment or privilege, and the law applied without political exemptions.
The letter concludes with an offer to submit appropriately verified supporting materials through the Court’s established procedures.
Whether the appeal leads to further assessment or action will depend on the evidence available and the applicable legal requirements. No conclusion of criminal responsibility follows from the letter alone.
For Sierra Leone, the wider challenge remains clear: credible allegations must be investigated fairly, victims must not be forgotten, and public institutions must demonstrate that accountability applies to everyone, regardless of position or influence.