Dear Readers,
I’m delighted to let you know that both Mr. Stephen Rapp, chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and Mr. Courtenay Griffiths, the lead defense counsel for Charles Taylor, have both agreed to do a “questions and answers” interview with us. Mr. Rapp has agreed to be interviewed this coming weekend, while [...]
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August
24
2009
Taylor Says UN Report on Diamonds and Guns was Biased Against Him; CIA helped his Rebel Group
Charles Taylor today said that a 2000 United Nations expert report, which accused him of providing military and financial support to Sierra Leonean rebels in exchange for diamonds, contained an expert who was unfairly biased against Mr. Taylor. He also claimed that his rebel group — which launched a civil war in Liberia in 1989 [...]
Charles Taylor this week told Special Court for Sierra Leone judges that he had the approval of the international community to grant political asylum to Sam Bockarie after the rebel commander left Sierra Leone in December 1999. Mr. Taylor also told the judges that West African leaders unanimously agreed to change the leadership of Sierra [...]
August
21
2009
Technical Problems with Live Feed, Live Streaming to Liberia
Dear Readers,
A number of people experienced frustration with the live feed of the Taylor trial this week. I checked with the Special Court as you had requested. Kindly, Mr. Solomon Moriba helped us with some of your questions related to the live feed problems and also the question a reader asked about streaming the trial [...]
Charles Taylor today said he had no more personal influence over Sierra Leone’s rebel forces than any other West African leader during Sierra Leone’s brutal 11-year war, and deflected attention away from his relationship with the rebel group by pointing to the close military and financial ties between the rebel leaders and Nigerian peacekeepers.
Continuing along [...]
August
19
2009
ECOWAS Leaders Changed Rebel Leadership, not Charles Taylor acting alone, Taylor says
Charles Taylor did not use his personal influence or control over Sierra Leone’s rebel force to choose a new leader when its head commander was arrested in 2000, Mr. Taylor told the Special Court for Sierra Leone judges today. Instead, West African leaders worked together to appoint a new rebel leader with whom they could [...]
August
18
2009
Taylor Negotiated With RUF Rebels For The Release Of UN Hostages; Says ECOMOG Traded Diamonds and Arms With the RUF
Charles Taylor explained how he successfully negotiated the release of United Nations peacekeepers who were held hostage by rebel forces in Sierra Leone during his continuing testimony in The Hague today. Meanwhile while his defense team highlighted a United Nations report alleging that West African peacekeepers were involved in diamond and arms trade with Sierra [...]
August
17
2009
RUF Commander Sam Bockarie’s Relocation To Liberia Was Sanctioned By The International Community
Charles Taylor had the international community’s approval to grant political asylum to Sam Bockarie after the rebel commander left Sierra Leone in December 1999, Mr. Taylor told judges today at his trial in The Hague.
Mr. Taylor told the judges that Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders realized that Sam Bockarie’s continued presence in [...]
August
17
2009
Special Report on Rule 98 Pleadings in the Prosecutor v. Charles Taylor: Defense Motion for Acquittal on Basis of Insufficient Evidence
Overview
April 2009 marked the halfway point in the case of Prosecutor v. Charles Taylor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). Pursuant to Rule 98 of the SCSL Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Trial Chamber II heard oral submissions from the parties on a motion for acquittal brought by Counsel for the [...]
August
15
2009
Does the UK Offer to Imprison Mr. Taylor if Convicted Mean the Outcome of the Trial is Predetermined?
This week, one of our readers, Sylvanus, asked an important question about Charles Taylor’s trial: “can you explain to some of us the reason why it has already been decided that if Taylor is convicted he would be imprisoned in Britain. Could it be that there is a predetermined outcome of this trial?”
The short answer [...]
