Taylor War Crimes Trial to Resume

Subject: Taylor War Crimes Trial to Resume Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:18 am

The war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor is to resume in The Hague after a six-month delay.

Mr Taylor is the first former African head of state to face an international war crimes court.

He denies responsibility for atrocities committed by rebels during the war in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

The trial opened in June last year but proceedings were postponed after Mr Taylor fired his defence lawyer and boycotted the opening of the trial.

Mr Taylor is accused of responsibility for the actions of Revolutionary United Front rebels during the 1991-2001 civil war in Sierra Leone, which included unlawful killings, sexual slavery, use of child soldiers and looting.

RUF fighters were also notorious for hacking off the arms and legs of the civilian population with machetes.

Prosecutors say Mr Taylor provided the RUF with weapons in exchange for diamonds.

As the first international criminal prosecution against a former African ruler accused of misdeeds, the case is of crucial importance, says the BBC's Mark Doyle in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Mr Taylor has pleaded not guilty to all 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

'Blood diamonds'

The first witness to take the stand on Monday will be Ian Smillie, an expert on conflict or "blood diamonds" - so called because proceeds from their sale have been used to fuel conflicts across the African continent.

Prosecutors say Mr Taylor's desire for access to diamonds and other natural resources from Sierra Leone was one of the root causes of his alleged involvement in the war.

The prosecution will also be calling a Sierra Leonean victim and a Liberian witness who is said to have belonged to Mr Taylor's inner circle.

Both witnesses are protected, which means their names have not been revealed.

In all, the prosecution intends to call 144 witnesses, though only half are likely to appear in person.

Chief prosecutor at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, Stephen Rapp, said: "We owe it to the victims to present some testimony in a live sense [so as] not to drain the case of the human element completely."

The trial is expected to last almost two years.

It is being held in The Hague for fear that staging it in Sierra Leone might lead to fresh unrest there.

Link.

Subject: Re: Taylor War Crimes Trial to Resume Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:31 am

Hope they FRY the maggot... only very, very slowly... a few years should do it... keep him just an inch away from the abyss of death, but in maximum pain nevertheless!

Taylor War Crimes Trial to Resume

Taylor War Crimes Trial to Resume

Anarcho-Capitalist Categorical Imperatives

Via AnCaps: Law & Enforced Unnatural Order