THE HAGUE, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Former Liberian president
Charles Taylor confronted the first witness called by the prosecution as his war
crimes trial resumed Monday after six months of repeated delays.
Wearing a dark suit, Taylor, who refused to show up
in the courtroom on the first day of his trial last June, appeared at the
defendant's seat this time.
Monday's trial started 10 minutes late, which presiding judge Julia Sebutinde said
was for security reasons.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor
sits in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court prior to the
hearing of witnesses in his trial in The Hague Jan. 7, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
"We begin to hear evidence today," Sebutinde said,
declaring the court proceedings open.
Ian Smillie, a Canadian expert on the trade in
diamonds linked to conflicts or "blood diamonds," was the first witness called
by the prosecution to testify against Taylor, who told the three-judge panel how
the illegal diamond trading fueled the war in Sierra Leone.
Taylor, the first former African leader standing
trial before an international tribunal, was charged with 11 counts of war crimes
and crimes against humanity for his involvement in the 10-year civil war in
neighboring Sierra Leone, which ended in 2002.
He allegedly supported the rebel Revolutionary United
Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone who committed murder, rape and mutilation of
civilians, and arms trafficking and the use of child soldiers, aiming to gain
control of the country's mineral wealth, particularly its diamond mines.
Smillie said diamonds were the primary funding source
of RUF, which forced captives to work as slaves in diamond fields and initiated
a campaign of terror to strengthen their grip of the treasure. According to
Smillie, most the illicit diamonds were smuggled out of Sierra Leone through
Liberia.
"Such illicit trade cannot be conducted without the
permission and involvement of Liberian government officials at the highest
levels," Smillie said.
Smillie said he interviewed Taylor as part of a U.N.
investigation of arms smuggling in Liberia in 2000, in which Taylor acknowledged
the possibility of Sierra Leone diamonds passing through Liberia, but denied
involvement.
The prosecution also showed several clips of a
documentary depicting the atrocities of Sierra Leone militias in the decade-old
war, which the defense contested as prejudicial.
After Smillie, a victim of the Sierra Leone conflict
and an insider once belonging to Taylor's inner circle will take the stand later
this week. Both people's names were not disclosed for the sake of their safety.
Taylor is tried by the U.N.-backed Special Court for
Sierra Leone, which rented a courtroom from the Hague-based International
Criminal Court to conduct the trial for security concerns.
The governments of Liberia and Sierra Leone fear that
his trial in Sierra Leone could spark violence in Freetown, the capital of
Sierra Leone.
Stephen Rapp, chief prosecutor of the court, said he
has 144 witnesses, including 77 victims, 59 witnesses to link Taylor to the
actual crimes and eight experts, lined up to testify in the trial. He hoped half
of them could submit their testimony in writing.
The defense has been against the move to let victims
give testimony, arguing the dispute was not on whether the atrocities occurred,
but on whether Taylor was responsible.
Legal experts said the trial would be centered on
whether Taylor ordered, supported or condoned alleged atrocities, rather than
whether he committed those acts himself.
The former warlord, who was Liberia's president
between 1997 and 2003, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. He could face
a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted.
The trial was opened last June, but was delayed
several times in the past six months amid claim by Taylor of inadequate defense.
On the first day of his trial, the former warlord
refused to show up in the courtroom and sacked his court-appointed lawyer Karim
Khan, plunging the legal proceedings into chaos.
With a new defense team led by British barrister
Courtenay Griffiths in place early August, the trial was later put on hold until
Jan. 7, 2008 to give the newly composed defense team additional time to prepare.
Taylor is receiving a legal aid budget of 100,000
U.S. dollars per month. Faced with such costs, the Special Court for Sierra
Leone is making a fresh appeal for international donors to ensure that it can
complete the trial process.
The budget for the court in 2007 was 36 million U.S.
dollars. Rapp said the budget for 2008 is 33 million U.S. dollars and 20 million
will be needed in 2009.
The prosecution believes Taylor is hiding huge
fortune in assets, which Rapp said they are trying to pinpoint the location of
the money and hope to recover it to help pay for defense costs or to use as
compensation for the victims.
The trial is expected to be concluded by the end of
2009, which will be certain to drag into appeal.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor
sits in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court prior to the
hearing of witnesses in his trial in The Hague Jan. 7, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
THE HAGUE, Jan. 7
(Xinhua) -- A blood diamond expert was called on Monday by the prosecution as
the first witness to testify against former Liberian president Charles Taylor in
his war crimes trial.
Ian Smillie, a Canadian expert on the trade in diamonds
linked to conflicts or "blood diamonds," told the three-judge panel how the
illegal diamond trading fueled the war in Sierra Leone. Full story
THE HAGUE, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Former Liberian president
Charles Taylor is expected to confront prosecution witnesses, including an
insider once close to him, when his war crimes trial resumes Monday after six
months of repeated delays.
Taylor, the first former African leader standing
trial before an international tribunal, was charged with 11 counts of war crimes
and crimes against humanity for his involvement in the 10-year civil war in
neighboring Sierra Leone, which ended in 2002. Full story
