The decision to relocate a fellow rebel commander from Sierra Leone to Liberia in 1999 to promote peace in the war-torn country was not taken by Charles Taylor alone, but rather by West African leaders acting jointly, a former Sierra Leonean rebel leader told the Special Court for Sierra Leone said today.
Today, Issa Sesay – former interim [...]
July
14
2010
Decision To Keep RUF Commander Sam Bockarie In Liberia Was Taken By West African Leaders, Issa Sesay Testifies
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July
13
2010
Atrocities Increased In Sierra Leone When The RUF Joined Forces With AFRC, Issa Sesay Says
Atrocities committed during the 11-year conflict in Sierra Leone increased when rebel forces teamed up with disgruntled members the Sierra Leone armed forces after a 1997 military coup in Sierra Leone, according to testimony by a top level former rebel commander in The Hague today.
Issa Hassan Sesay, former interim leader of Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has taken [...]
July
12
2010
Ivorian Government Provided Accomodation For The RUF Longer Than Charles Taylor Did, Former Rebel Leader Testifies.
As he took the witness stand for a second week, a Sierra Leonean rebel leader today testified that the Ivory Coast government gave his rebel group a base to stay for far longer than former Liberian president, Charles Taylor – again distancing the former Liberian president from charges that he supported and controlled the neighboring [...]
July
10
2010
RUF Leader Testifies: Says Taylor Neither Supported Rebels, Nor Receive Diamonds From Them
A former Sierra Leonean rebel leader – released from his jail cell in Rwanda to testify on behalf of Charles Taylor – this week distanced the activities of his rebels from the former Liberian President. Mr. Taylor did not control the rebels’ actions, receive diamonds from them, nor provide assistance to them during Sierra Leone’s bloody civil conflict, he [...]
July
9
2010
RUF Bought Ammunition From Top Liberian Security Personnel But Taylor Didn’t Know, RUF Leader Says
Sierra Leonean rebels bought arms and ammunition from top Liberian security personnel to help fuel the brutal 11-year conflict in the West African nation – but Charles Taylor did not know about it, according to a former Sierra Leonean rebel leader.
Issa Sesay, formerly a leader in Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group, said today [...]
Charles Taylor was not the man who ordered or planned the attack on a diamond-rich town in Sierra Leone in 1998, a former rebel leader has told the Special Court for Sierra Leone today.
On his fourth day on the witness stand, Issa Sesay today said another rebel group supplied the ammunition used to attack the diamond-rich [...]
July
7
2010
1997 Arms Shipment Into Sierra Leone Was Not Facilitated By Charles Taylor, RUF Leader Testifies
A former Sierra Leonean rebel leader today again took pains to distance Charles Taylor from a shipment of weapons that prosecutors say was bought with the same batch of diamonds as those he allegedly gave to supermodel Naomi Campbell after a star-studded dinner in South Africa in 1997.
On his third day of testimony, [...]
July
6
2010
Former Rebel Leader Continues to Distance Charles Taylor from Sierra Leonean Rebel Crimes
In his second day of testimony, a former Sierra Leonean rebel leader continued to distance Charles Taylor from wrongdoing during the country’s bloody 11-year conflict, pointing instead to the United Nations and other Liberian rebel groups who did more to further the rebel cause through weapons supplies and other assistance than the former Liberian president [...]
A former Sierra Leonean rebel leader, released from his jail cell in Rwanda to testify on behalf of Charles Taylor, today rejected claims that the former Liberian president received diamonds from his neighboring rebel group, nor controlled the rebels’ actions during Sierra Leone’s bloody civil conflict.
Issa Sesay, who led the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel [...]
British supermodel Naomi Campbell is to be served a subpoena and compelled to testify on July 29 in the trial of Charles Taylor about an alleged diamond gift she received from the former Liberian president in South Africa in 1997, Special Court for Sierra Leone judges ruled this week. The subpoena was issued after judges [...]
