Country Watch
many states and international institutions became involved. The Special Court for Sierra Leone was established by the United Nations and the Sierra Leonean government to try those who commit- ted war crimes and grave violations against hu- man rights since November 30, 1996. In 2003, the Prosecutor issued thirteen indictments, including the indictment of Taylor. Trials have been complet- ed for three former leaders of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), two members of the Civil Defence Forces (CDF) and of three for- mer leaders of the RUF.
Taylor was president of Liberia from 1997 until 2003. He originally was the leader of the rebel group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, and then won the democratic presidential election. On June 4, 2003, Taylor was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for supporting the RUF reb- els as well as committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Pursuant to an agreement by African heads of state, Taylor was exiled to Ni- geria. On March 29, 2006, Nigerian authorities caught Taylor attempting to escape from Nigeria into Cameroon. United Nations (UN) authorities then arrested him and brought him to Freetown, Sierra Leone to stand before the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Due to security concerns in Libe- ria and Sierra Leone, the current Liberian Presi- dent, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, requested for Taylor’s trial to be conducted at the International Crimi- nal Court in The Hague. The UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1688 on June 16, 2006, to allow the Special Court to try Taylor at The Hague, as long as all states agreed to cooper- ate. On January 7, 2008, Taylor’s trial began. Taylor is the first former African head of state to be tried at an international tribunal.
Taylor is allegedly liable for Liberian forces fight- ing in the Civil War of Sierra Leone. The Prosecu- tor argues that Taylor is criminally responsible for providing military support to the RUF and AFRC in exchange for conflict diamonds. Conflict dia- monds were the products of rebel groups forcing
innocent people throughout Sierra Leone to mine diamonds for the purpose of financing the war. Taylor is charged with five counts of war crimes including terrorizing civilians, murder, outrages on personal dignity, cruel treatment, and looting; five counts of crimes against humanity including mur- der, rape, sexual slavery, mutilation and beating, and enslavement; and one count of other serious violations of international humanitarian law by re- cruiting and using child soldiers. Taylor denies all charges. During the three-year trial, the prosecu- tion called 94 witnesses to testify and the defense called 21 witnesses, including Taylor himself who testified for 13 weeks.
The defense argues that Taylor did not aid rebel forces in Sierra Leone and was not associated with the Liberian forces that were involved in the conflict. Although the defense concluded its arguments in March 2011, it sought to admit the Experts Report to prove that the Liberian forces acted on their own. The UN Security Council sub- mitted the Panel of Experts Report on Liberia on December 7, 2011. It discusses Liberian merce- naries’ activities in West Africa, focusing on their participation in the recent Ivory Coast conflict, and how these fighters exploit conflict for personal gain. The defense uses this “private enterprise” theory in the Report to argue that the Liberians who fought in Sierra Leone were pursuing their own personal gain, and were not fighting under Taylor’s direction. However, the Special Court de- nied the motion, finding that the defense did not act with reasonable due diligence in filing the mo- tion to admit the report and found that the report lacked probative value.
Taylor’s verdict will be delivered on April 26, 2012. The Special Court has said the appeal proceed- ings will begin immediately if he is acquitted. If he is convicted, the Court will schedule hearings to determine his sentence. Taylor faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
*Submitted by Christine Long ILSA Quarterly » volume 20 » issue 4 » May 2012
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