The Trial of Charles Taylor


by Alpha Sesay

A witness defending Charles Taylor today said he never heard of the former Liberian president giving orders to his own rebel forces to kill, rape, loot or burn people’s houses, as alleged by prosecutors.
A protected witness, testifying under the pseudonym DCT 125 and with face and voice distortion, said if any crimes were committed under [...]

by Tracey Gurd

Dear Readers,
The Charles Taylor trial will resume again tomorrow (Tuesday) and continue through the rest of the week.  No proceedings were held today as the Special Court for Sierra Leone has to share the courtrooms at the International Criminal Court with its own ongoing trials.

by Alpha Sesay

Charles Taylor did not provide support to Sierra Leonean rebel forces in their attack on the West African country’s capital Freetown in 1999, said the former president’s first defense witness who concluded his testimony this week. Prosecutors, on the other hand, accused the witness of giving testimony which was inconsistent with his own written statement and [...]

by Tracey Gurd

Dear Readers,
Some excellent news for us today. Courtenay Griffiths – Mr. Taylor’s lead defense lawyer — has agreed to be interviewed for this site next Wednesday. 
We are seeking your questions for him, which we’ll be accepting through until 9am EST, Tuesday morning (March 9, 2010).  We are still keeping in mind the questions asked when [...]

by Alpha Sesay

Charles Taylor wanted power to empower the Liberian people to develop their country, a defense witness told Special Court for Sierra Leone judges today.
“Charles Taylor wanted power, control his people and to empower them with the authority to develop their country in Liberia,” the witness said today as he testified about the former president’s motivation [...]

by Alpha Sesay

Neither Charles Taylor nor his security forces supported or participated in the Sierra Leonean rebel attack on the country’s capital Freetown in 1999, the Special Court for Sierra Leone heard today as Mr. Taylor’s first defense witness ended his testimony.
Mr. Yanks’ testimony – consistent on this point with Mr. Taylor’s own testimony — stands in contrast [...]

by Alpha Sesay

Charles Taylor’s defense witness, Mr. Yanks Smythe has said that certain aspects of his  written statement were misrepresented as prosecutors today pointed out inconsistencies in his written statement to defense lawyers and his oral testimony in court.
Prosecution counsel Nicholas Koumjian today tried to point to Mr. Smythe that certain things about which he has testified in court differ from what [...]

by Alpha Sesay

A defense witness for Charles Taylor has dismissed prosecution assertions that his testimony is contradicting that of the former Liberian president, telling the court that neither him, nor Mr. Taylor, is lying to the judges.
Between July 2009 and February 2010, Mr. Taylor, who stands accused of supporting Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, testified as [...]

by Tracey Gurd

Dear Readers,
One of our regular commenters, $$ker-Bnker, asked to see some photos of the International Criminal Court and the Charles Taylor trial while I was in The Hague this week. Davenpost.Noko7 wanted to see some also.  Well, here are a few from today’s proceedings taken from my phone while I was there – not high [...]

by Alpha Sesay

The first witness for Charles Taylor started his testimony this week, telling Special Court for Sierra Leone judges that prosecution witnesses lied against the former Liberian president.
On Monday, Yanks Smythe, a Gambiam national who was a member of Mr. Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) rebel group and who later acquired Liberian citizenship and [...]


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