(EDITOR’S NOTE: Dear readers - many of you have asked for a legal commentary on hearsay in the Taylor trial. We’ve been lucky enough that Valerie Oosterveld, a law professor at the Univeristy of Ontaria, Canada, and her research assistant and law student, Heather Townsend Goodman, have written this commentary for us. Enjoy – and we [...]
March
10
2010
An Urgent Need for a Robust Outreach Pregram as Sierra Leoneans Give Mixed Reactions to Charles Taylor’s Trial
Sierra Leoneans say they are losing interest in the Charles Taylor trial because it is taking too long and they are not getting enough information about the high profile case that is taking place half way around the world in The Hague. Reactions from Freetown underscore the need for the Special Court for Sierra Leone [...]
March
5
2010
Your Questions Wanted: Interview with Courtenay Griffiths, lead Counsel for Charles Taylor
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 [...]
March
1
2010
A Day In Photos at the Charles Taylor Trial
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 [...]
February
19
2010
Readers: You are famous beyond this website!
Dear Readers,
I was speaking with Frank Sainworla, a Liberian journalist with West Africa Democracy Radio, this morning. He does great weekly radio programming on the Charles Taylor trial.
One of the really innovative things that Frank does is to read out readers’ comments from this blog on his radio show as he gives updates about the [...]
Dear Readers,
We have some very exciting news – In response to readers’ requests, the former Special Court prosecutor, David Crane, is willing to be interviewed and to answer your questions in relation to the Charles Taylor trial.
As many of you may already know, Mr. Crane was the first lead prosecutor at the Special Court and [...]
January
15
2010
The Taylor Trial in the Press This Week
Dear Readers,
You may be interested in a flurry of articles about the trial for former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, which have emerged in the past week as the cross-examination of Mr. Taylor by prosecutors has restarted.
A bevy of press articles emerged in the last 24 hours in relation to the document prosecutors tried to introduce [...]
Charles Taylor will take the stand again tomorrow, as prosecutors continue to challenge his version of events – and of his role — during Sierra Leone’s brutal conflict. The excitement continues as both sides continue to battle it out to see who walks away from the highlight of this trial — Mr. Taylor’s testimony — [...]
The direct testimony of former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, covered a lot of ground. Over the course of 13 weeks, Mr. Taylor talked us through his childhood in Liberia, his student days in the United States, his dramatic escape from a US jail in the 1980s, his time in Libya where he was influenced, he [...]
December
14
2009
Why Does the Special Court For Sierra Leone Have Judges, Prosecutors and Staff Who Are Not From Sierra Leone?
Readers,
Big B asked a good question that might be worth posting separately as it refers to the structure of the Special Court, the composition of its judges and staff, and its legitimacy.
Big B asked:
“This court is what it is. It is the Special Court of Sierra Leone, not the United Nations Criminal Court. Most African [...]
