Ibrahim Sorie Yillah
Current member of the board
Sierra Leone, representing African States
2021 - current

Ibrahim Sorie Yillah is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of Sierra Leone. Ibrahim has practiced law locally and internationally. Ibrahim was admitted to the Sierra Leone Bar in 1998. As a Barrister in Sierra Leone, he has appeared before all courts in Sierra Leone namely; the Magistrate’s Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

At the international level, Ibrahim has served as Associate Counsel in the Principal Defender’s Office at the then Special Court for Sierra Leone, Co-Counsel at that same court and later served as Associate and Trial Lawyer in the Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court in The Hague from 2005-2011. Ibrahim also served as Defence Counsel at the International Criminal Court in the Darfur cases. Ibrahim was elected by his peers to the Executive Council of the International Criminal Court Bar Association in 2020.

Ibrahim currently serves as the Principal Defender, Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, a position he has held since 2015. In this capacity, Ibrahim represents together with pro bono Counsel all convicts of the Special Court for Sierra Leone currently serving imprisonment in Rwanda and in the United Kingdom. Ibrahim has also worked on human rights matters including but not limited to assisting AIDS Free World in requesting the prosecution of former President of The Gambia, Yayah Jammeh and is currently working with other counsel on redress for victims who suffered human rights violations/abuses in the hands of foreign troops in Sierra Leone during the civil war in his country.

Ibrahim brings to the ICC Trust Fund for Victims, years of experience in the field of international criminal law especially with his work in both the prosecution and defence and looks forward to working with other board members to fulfill one of the mandates of the Rome Statute system, perhaps the most important aspect of the Rome Statute System, namely; the reparation of victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court.