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Sierra Leone Rebel Leader Charged With Murder VOA News 4 Mar 2002 16:10 UTC 
Sierra Leone rebel leader Foday Sankoh has appeared in court in the capital, Freetown, to hear murder charges against him and dozens of other rebels.
The court then ordered the proceedings against Mr. Sankoh to resume March 11th. Mr. Sankoh did not enter a plea to the charges at Monday's hearing. Justice Minister Solomon Berewa says the leader of the Revolutionary United Front rebel group could receive the death penalty if found guilty. Sierra Leone's 10-year civil war was declared over in January.
Mr. Sankoh had been detained without charge at an undisclosed location in Freetown since his arrest in mid-2000. He was taken into custody after his rebel group defied a peace accord and opened fire on a group of demonstrators, killing about 20 people.
President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Friday lifted a state of emergency providing for summary detentions to allow political parties to freely campaign for national elections in May.
Justice Minister Berewa says Mr. Sankoh and the other rebels could no longer be detained without being charged.
About 200,000 people were killed in the West African nation's brutal civil war, and thousands more deliberately mutilated during the rebels' terror campaign.
Some information for this report provided by AFP.
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