A defense witness for Charles Taylor this week told Special Court for Sierra Leone judges in The Hague that there was no exchange of arms and diamonds between Sierra Leonean rebels and Mr. Taylor and that while the Sierra Leonean rebels were trained in a territory under control of Mr. Taylor’s rebel forces in Liberia, [...]
April
17
2010
Sierra Leonean Rebels Were Responsible For Atrocities Committed In Sierra Leone, Former RUF Members Testify
Two former members of the Sierra Leonean rebel group which wreaked havoc during the country’s brutal 11-year civil war told judges this week that they had only themselves to blame for the atrocities committed during the conflict – Charles Taylor had no responsibility for the crimes.
Mr. Taylor is on trial for allegedly supporting and controlling the [...]
A defense witness for Charles Taylor this week denied knowledge of the former president’s alleged involvement in sending Liberian traditional herbalists – or “juju” men –to Sierra Leone to perform ceremonies for rebel forces to protect them from enemy bullets. The witness also told Special Court for Sierra Leone judges that paramilitary units were established as part [...]
Defense witnesses for Charles Taylor this week told Special Court for Sierra Leone judges that the former Liberian president did not supply arms and ammunition to Sierra Leonean rebels, did not provide assistance in training the rebels in Liberia, and he did not help them plan the invasion of Sierra Leone in 1991.
Mr. Taylor, who is [...]
This week, a witness for former Liberian president, Charles Taylor denied that Mr. Taylor supplied weapons to Sierra Leonean rebels, backing up information contained in a 1999 military report issued by the rebels. The same witness also rejected the idea that the rebels themselves raped, took “bush wives” or recruited child soldiers during the country’s [...]
Charles Taylor never ordered his rebel forces to commit crimes, and he was prevented from liberating the Liberian people by foreign countries who interfered in the country’s conflict, a defense witness told the Special Court for Sierra Leone this week.
DCT 125, a protected witness testifying with face and voice distortion on Tuesday told the judges [...]
February
27
2010
Charles Taylor’s First Witnesses Starts His Testimony, Says Prosecution Witness Lied Against The Former Liberian President
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 [...]
February
6
2010
Prosecutors Conclude The Cross-Examination Of Charles Taylor
Prosecutors this week concluded the cross-examination of former Liberian president Charles Taylor, asserting before Special Court for Sierra Leone judges that the former president persecuted human rights activists and suppressed press freedom in Liberia, that he executed politicians and rebel commanders who he saw as threats to his quest for political power, that he had ulterior [...]
