Comments on: Taylor Did Not Have Any Contact With RUF Leader Foday Sankoh After May 1992, He Says

By: Impunity Watch » Blog Archive » Update: Charles Taylor Denies Supporting RUF Rebels

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:02:30 +0000

[...] more information, please see: CharlesTaylorTrial.com – Taylor Did Not Have Any Contact With RUF Leader Foday Sankoh After May 1992, He Says – 17 September [...]

By: noko5

noko5 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:32:27 +0000

Gentlemen, think about this; how the heck will an experience lawer like Stephen Rapp use a man like Vanmuyan Sheriff who was dead crazy; I mean stone crazy, picking paper in the street like any mormal crazyman in monrovia town during the periode under review as a witness in this kind of very high profile case. Where are the people of sierraleone?? Why don’t you guys rise against this whole prosecution team and take them to this day time witch they are playing?? Now fellow sierraleoneans pray tell e , which part of this world have you ever, ever, seen a crazy man standing as a witness in a legal matter like this, even if it was just a case for a stolen chicken. When are you people going to make your voices heard???? What are you waiting for??? You guys are being abused, your integritity is at stake.. rise..rise.. rise up brothers and sisters.. take them court…..

By: noko5

noko5 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:11:12 +0000

Hi tracey,

The court president usually says, in private session the proceedings will be seen and not heard; at that point who is statement in refrecence to?

By: Noko4

Noko4 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:18:43 +0000

Thanks Tracey.

Noko4

By: Tracey Gurd

Tracey Gurd — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:27:51 +0000

Noko4 – I’ll do some more research into this and get back to you asap.
Best,
Tracey

By: Noko4

Noko4 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:01:36 +0000

Tracey,
I need your HELP; there is a BAN LIST of Liberians and I have been wondering HOW was this list formated…..in the other words, the PROCESS. I’ve noticed that some that were ON are now OFF…..HOW DOES NO GETS OFF??? And is it ILLEGAL to punish someone without a CHARGE?? It seems like this is what the UN is doing….I thought the UN was to seek the LIBERTY OF ALL??

The UN has over the years submitted a list of Liberians to have their properties seize and be prosecuted without providing FACTUAL EVIDENCES by Liberia. To start, Liberia has NO CHARGES and even if she wanted to CREATE or INVENT a charge or FOLLOW the UN Resolution due to her Constitution, she can’t.

Article 21
a) No person shall be made subject to any law or punishment which was not in effect at the time of commission of an offense, nor shall the Legislature enact any bill of attainder or ex post facto law .

b) No person shall be subject to search or seizure of his person or property, whether on a criminal charge or for any other purpose, unless upon warrant lawfully issued upon probable cause supported by a solemn oath or affirmation, specifically identifying the person or place to be searched and stating the object of the search; provided, however, that a search or seizure shall be permissible without a search warrant where the arresting authorities act during the commission of a crime or in hot pursuit of a person who has committed a crime.

So given the Liberia CANNOT, why they cannot be prosecuted by the UN for JUSTICE SAKE or be taken off this list given that Liberia has NO rights to bring them in court or seize their properties without a CHARGE. Pres. Johnson-Sirleaf tried the front, back and side doors to have the LEG pass a LAW violating the very Constitution she promised to uphold and on each try, it was met DEAD ON ARRIVAL.

By: Sam

Sam — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:40:58 +0000

Eagle-eye,
I think you have a distorted view of the rulling of the court on the motion of acquital. the court in arriving at its decision, refrained from going into the credibility or otherwise of the evidence against Mr Taylor they simply said evidence has been presented to justify an answer by Mr Taylor to the charges against him. Remember there are 11 counts to which he is answering. the most contentious on the joint criminal enterprise he is alleged to have entered into with the RUF in perpetrating the crimes in SL.

A review of the ruling of the court on the motion of acquital will help you to come to a better understanding of the position of the court at this stage. Also I think a review of the ruling of the court on the Issa Sessay and Morris Kallon case can also provide an insight to colpability with the regard to JCE.

By: Sam

Sam — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:18:25 +0000

Eagle-eye,
Did you say nobody was punished in the NPFL for supporting the RUF? I think you hjave gotten your facts wrong. Please read the transcript of 14th to 16th Sept, 2009 you will find out that atleast 3 NPFL Special Foces were arrested, investigated and put on trial and eventually executed for coniving with the RUF in SL to overthrow Mr Taylor.

By: Jocone

Jocone — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:05:31 +0000

Eagle-eye ( returns)
I don’t know what you mean by this trial is not about ULIMO, ECOMOG OR LURD. When you have generals from ULIMO testifying in this case known fully well that, they were the one supplying weapons to RUF from 1992 to August 1997 at which time Taylor became President.

If this was in your shoes, wouldn’t tell this very court that you didn’t supply Arms and ammunitions due to the fact that you didn’t control with Sierra Leone from from 1992 to 1997? On the issue of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, do you think she’s clean in this crimes against humanity?

If you say been involve in the attempts to remove a government is not a crimes against humanity, how about the lost of hundreds of thousands of lives in the process?

Her order to Mr. Taylor to level Monrovia that was holding abuot one million people in July of 1990 and leave only mansion standing serve to as someone who never committed crimes against humanity? We all agree that this trial is not about Liberia in part but it’s impossible to have Liberia completely out of it. The facts is, Liberian have been accused of commiting crimes inSierra Leone.
One may say, it’s only Charles Taylor who has been accused. We all know very well it wasn’t possible for Taylor to continue supplying weapons to RUF when he was already accused of such before; moreover, fighting two different rebels gourps in Liberia while his government had arms embargo on her. Even the great United States is having it difficult to supply her military what it need to fight the two wars she’s fighting now. So to think and say that this trial is all about Sierra Leone is a little off balance!

By: Sam

Sam — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:58:04 +0000

Fallar,
I do not think you understand Mr Taylors testimony about what that prosecution witness called TREETOP. for your information Mr Taylor said his radio room DURING THE NPFL DAYS was never called Treetop but BUTTERFLY, is radio operator was also called Butterfly. Treetop was the radio room at the Defence Ministry which is totally different from Mr Taylors personal radio room called Butterfly. see the Sept. 16th Transcript for more information.

So that witness testimony directly contradicts Mr Taylors own account of events.