Inside ICE: Volume 4, Issue 1

Former Liberian President’s Son Indicted for Torture

MIAMI—A federal grand jury in Miami charged Roy M. Belfast Jr., 29, with various crimes related to the alleged 2002 torture of a person in Liberia. Belfast was charged in an indictment returned on Dec. 6, 2006, by a federal grand jury in Miami with one count of torture, one count of conspiracy to torture and one count of using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. The indictment charges Belfast, son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, with participating in the torture of an individual in July 2002, in and around Monrovia, Liberia. Belfast, who was born in the United States, is alleged to have been serving in his father’s government in Liberia at the time of the incident.

According to the indictment, in July 2002, the victim was abducted from his home and transported to various locations, finally arriving at the residence of then- Liberian President Taylor. Belfast observed questioning of the victim at this location. The victim was then transported for continued interrogation to the residence of a co-conspirator, who was a member of the Liberian Special Security Service.

According to the indictment, while at this residence, Belfast and others tortured the victim. The torture included repeatedly burning the victim’s flesh with a hot iron, burning various parts of his body with scalding water, including forcing the victim to hold scalding water in his hands at gunpoint, repeatedly electrically shocking the victim’s genitalia and other body parts and rubbing salt into the victim’s wounds.

On Dec. 7, Belfast was sentenced to 11 months incarceration for his passport fraud conviction. He was given credit for time served (about eight months). Belfast has been arraigned on the torture charges and has been ordered held in custody pending trial.

The joint investigation was conducted by ICE and the FBI.

ICE Targets Human Rights Violators

ICE created the Human Rights Violators and Public Safety Unit (HRVPSU) and the Human Rights Law Division (HRLD) to further its commitment to identifying, prosecuting and removing human rights abusers. The HRVPSU has the specific mandate to deny safe haven to human rights violators by bringing to bear a full range of investigative techniques and legal authorities to locate, investigate and remove these individuals from the United States. The HRLD was created to provide legal and litigation support to the effort to prosecute and to remove human rights violators.

Recent human rights violation cases investigated by ICE include:

• ICE agents arrested Gonzalo Guevara-Cerritos, 43, a former Salvadoran Army lieutenant convicted of participating in the Salvadoran military's 1989 massacre of six Jesuit priests. Guevara faces deportation.


• ICE agents arrested Prince Solomon Knox, 44, a native of Sierra Leone, on federal charges alleging that he lied about his involvement with rebel groups to gain entry to the United States as a refugee. Knox is charged with two counts of immigration fraud and two counts of making false statements to immigration officials in 2003 and 2006.


• ICE HRLD charged 24 individuals in six states with criminal violations in connection with their efforts to obtain refugee status in the United States by concealing their prior service in the Bosnian Serb military.

A conviction of immigration fraud carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Making false statements carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. Unlawful procurement of citizenship carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

Back to Top

ICE Cracks Large-Scale Identity Theft Scheme

Former Liberian President’s Son Indicted for Torture

Former Chinese National Charged with Stealing Military Trade Secrets

Seven Charged in ICE Internet Child Pornography Trade Investigation

ICE Breaks Up Counterfeit Apparel Smuggling Ring

ICE Most Wanted

Receive the latest ICE newsletter twice a month right to your inbox. Simply enter your information below.