Dear Decision Makers:

Security and peace for the people of Sierra Leone hang in the balance, as citizens continue to face escalating violence due to President Julius Maada Bio’s ruthless autocratic rule! Mr. Bio’s harshness toward citizens is causing deaths and misery among the people and leading the country closer to another bloody civil war that will be worse than the previous one. Mr. Bio and his regime continue to destroy democracy, justice, and human rights in the country with the arbitrary arrests, torture, imprisonment, and killing of citizens based on their tribal, regional, and political party affiliations. 

Mr. Bio assumed the presidency in April 2018 following a hotly contested election. His election promise was to usher in a new era of governance and economic reform. However, Mr. Bio’s iron-clad rule, combined with his corruption and mismanagement of the nation’s resources has placed the majority of Sierra Leoneans in extreme poverty.

The country's most recent Multidimensional Poverty Index (SL-MPI) showed a majority of the population (59.2%) is multi-dimensionally poor, with an additional 21% at risk of multidimensional poverty. This means more than 5 million of the country's 7 million people are deprived of basic needs, such as food, health care, education, housing, and energy. 

The anguished cries of citizens against this despair of economic hardship that has gripped the nation since Mr. Bio took power led to a peaceful protest on August 10, 2022. Mr. Bio’s response to this peaceful protest was a violent outburst against the population as he unleashed his deadly Presidential Guards and other security forces to perpetrate a harrowing massacre of innocent citizens.

In BBC and CNN interviews regarding the slaughter of citizens, he further demonstrated his ambivalence toward the welfare of the people of Sierra Leone by labeling protesters as terrorists. The government’s mayhem on the people of Sierra Leone in August 2022 is forever etched in the minds of Sierra Leoneans as yet another heart-wrenching chapter in our nation's history. 

Mr. Bio's Security Forces Beating a Woman in the Streets of Freetown

Sadly, Mr. Bio’s extrajudicial killings have never been investigated independently, nor have they stopped. His security forces have killed and continue to kill many more citizens, as presented in a recent documentary titled “Bloody Democracy in Sierra Leone,” produced by the Association For Restoration Of Democracy in Sierra Leone. These government brutalities against the people of Sierra Leone are forever staining the memory of Sierra Leoneans and making our country even more fragile and prone to imminent war.

What is at Stake?

Sierra Leoneans were shocked and found it troubling that their country was even considered for non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council for 2024 to 2025 on the heels of Mr. Bio’s August 2022 massacre and subsequent violence against the people. Sierra Leoneans are gravely concerned about the seeming disregard of the international community for their plight.

In Sierra Leone, contrary to what Mr. Bio says at the UNGA meetings, citizens are NOT enjoying peace and security because their human rights are being violated by Mr. Bio and his regime every day. A seat at the UN Security Council is not only a mockery to the people but is also deeply troubling and makes the world see the UN as applying double standards. Therefore, the world questions the commitment of the UN Security Council to promoting the principles of peace, security, and good governance in Africa and around the world. 

The unwavering resilience of Sierra Leoneans in the fight against Mr. Bio’s atrocities has moved Sierra Leonean nationals across the globe to raise our voices through protests held in various parts of the world, including Europe and the United States.  In August 2022, a group of ‘Concerned Sierra Leoneans Worldwide’ carried our message of despair and suffering to the International Criminal Court at the Hague, the United Nations in New York, and other international stakeholders. These heartfelt demonstrations are a cry for help, a plea for humanity to stand with us and take action.

Yet, despite these valiant efforts and impassioned pleas by the people of Sierra Leone, we continue to endure unimaginable human rights violations. In August 2023, the U.S. State Department placed a visa restriction on Mr. Bio's government officials; however, it had no effect because a majority of Mr. Bio's officials are naturalized U.S. and European citizens.

The continued atrocities by Mr. Bio and his regime, with impunity, make it appear that our cries remain largely overlooked by the international community, which has yet to take decisive action to alleviate the suffering of the people of Sierra Leone. The international community’s silence is deafening, and citizens residing in Sierra Leone continue to bear the heavy burden of injustice in silence.

The photo shows citizens tortured by Mr. Bio's security forces and subsequently killed extrajudicially.

The Urgency and Relevance of this Petition 

We are moved to take urgent action by the grave suffering of a majority of people in Sierra Leone, as well as the countless innocent lives that continue to be lost due to extrajudicial killings under Mr. Bio's rule. His security forces have shown a shocking disregard for human life, creating a climate of fear and despair among citizens. In the face of continued brutalities against citizens by Mr. Bio and his regime, Sierra Leoneans continue to be silenced by fear of being tortured, arrested, or killed. Meanwhile, as the people remain in this misery, Mr. Bio continues to be more unhinged and deadly toward citizens who oppose him. To sustain his autocratic rule, Mr. Bio is engaged in undemocratic practices, including,

• State capture of all arms of government and civil society organizations.
• Suppression of opposition by arbitrary arrests, imprisonment, and killings.
• Destruction of democratic space by silencing opposition.
• Electoral misconduct was reported by the local and international observers.
• Mismanagement of State funds revealed by the Auditor General’s Reports.
• Civil servants and security personnel are dismissed based on tribal, regional, and political affiliations.

Mr. Bio’s ironclad rule and brutalities are reminiscent of the factors that triggered the decade-long war in which Mr. Bio, as a soldier, was a participant. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report outlined the causes of that war, including the following, 

• “The commission found that the central cause of the war in Sierra Leone was corruption and an overwhelming control of the executive.”
• “Forced displacements, abductions, arbitrary detentions, and killings, plundering, and looting were the most common violations.”
• “The leadership of the RUF, the AFRC, the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) and the Civil Defense Force (CDF) were responsible for human rights violations against civilians.”

Please note that Julius Maada Bio was a member of the Sierra Leone Army, which was cited in the TRC among perpetrators of human rights violations against civilians. 

The above photo shows Mr. Bio (left) embracing rebel leader Foday Sankoh who was also married to Mr. Bio's sister.

We are very concerned that many of the causes of the war cited in the TRC report are currently playing out in Sierra Leone without any actions by the international community. We, the undersigned, are perplexed about the silence of the United Nations Human Rights Council and other regional and international bodies in taking action to stop Mr. Bio’s atrocities on the people of Sierra Leone.

Inaction against Mr. Bio's atrocities could plunge Sierra Leone into a darkness we dare not imagine. The potential consequences are chilling—escalating human rights abuses, the threat of instability, and the ominous drumbeat of conflict that threatens to resonate far beyond our borders. The very essence of the West Africa region is at stake, and the world must heed our call for help.

Mr. Bio's subversion of democratic institutions is a betrayal, a stab in the back of the youth's and future generations' dreams and aspirations. Furthermore, his assault on democracy and human rights in our beloved country, once a beacon of hope after a decadelong war, puts our nation in a situation to now grapple with the shadow of despair, leaving the people voiceless in the face of tyranny.

This photo shows Mr. Bio's security forces firing bullets into the opposition APC Party office in June 2023.

Our Call for Action

We urgently call on the regional and international communities, specifically the United Nations Human Rights Council, UN Security Council, African Union, Economic Commission Of West African States, European Union, U. S. Department of State, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and many more, to take immediate and decisive action against Mr. Julius Maada Bio and his regime in Sierra Leone. The following actions are urgently needed,

• Conduct immediate and independent investigations at community and household levels into the extrajudicial killings in Sierra Leone from 2018 to the present.
• Invite Mr. Julius Maada Bio to answer questions at the ICC.
• Put a hold on all MCC Programs in Sierra Leone pending independent investigations of killings at household levels.
• Remove Sierra Leone from the UN Security Council pending results of independent probes.
• Impose economic and other sanctions on Mr. Bio, his cabinet, and other officials, including travel bans and freezing bank accounts worldwide.
• Request for the release of all unlawful detainees.

We are signing this petition to raise awareness and call on regional and international communities to defend and protect democracy, justice, and the well-being of Sierra Leoneans and to avert a looming civil war and further humanitarian disaster in Sierra Leone and the region.

Every voice matters, and together, we are determined to make a difference in Sierra Leone and around the world. By signing this petition and sharing it widely, human rights advocates and all Sierra Leoneans are standing up against Mr. Bio’s autocracy, injustice, and human rights violations. With these signatures, we are sending a powerful message to the regional and international communities that the people of Sierra Leone deserve democracy, justice, and respect for our human rights to stay true to our national motto: Unity, Freedom, and Justice.

More Exhibits of Julius Maada Bio's torture and killings are below:

1. In March 2024 Mr. Bio's Government Buried 32 people in a mass grave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCFo_8g2Jro
2. A documentary capturing Sierra Leone Government's Crack Down on Citizens' Peaceful Protest on August 10, 2022  https://youtu.be/siBVlhahrCc?si=ECxibTQy10VY0APW
3. A documentary titled “Bloody Democracy in Sierra Leone”  captures human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings perpetrated by Mr. Bio's security forces in Sierra Leone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH4WqYkQVMY
4. The most recent survey data for Sierra Leone’s MPI estimation: https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/MPI/SLE.pdf
5. Mr. Bio's security forces tortured and killed a former solider in November 2023, suspected of being a member of the opposition party: https://youtu.be/2AEfOxLTMa0?si=QCPQinuzVoBQma3F
6. Mr. Bio's security forces torture and kill a former soldier in November 2023: https://youtube.com/shorts/B7ATGRVSbus?feature=share
7. Mr. Bio's security forces torture and kill a former soldier: https://youtube.com/shorts/iuTAh1Y4Ud8?feature=share
8. Market Women in Freetown under attack by Mr. Bio's security forces: https://youtube.com/shorts/R1-Im8hfvkg?si=tAxr2bUIE7pdsok0
9. A woman was assaulted at Mr. Bio's State House building on suspicion that she was on the phone with an opposition member:  https://youtu.be/L1p7mqEIC0g?si=uTiee62E7_vLcHyZ
10. Sierra Leone – a nation promised “New Direction” – Yet, what transpires is a satanic journey towards darkness: https://www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com/sierra-leone-a-nation-promised-new-direction-yet-what-transpire-is-a-satanic-journey-towards-darkness/