Ex-Liberian president in war crimes trial

Ex-Liberian president in war crimes trial

Taylor did not explain his decision to attend the procedural hearing after earlier boycotting the trial. He was 20 minutes late Tuesday, and the only time he spoke was to plead not guilty to a slightly amended charge of sexual slavery, a crime against humanity, covering the abduction, rape and use as sex slaves of an unknown number of women and girls.

Taylor has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges linked to the accusation that he controlled and armed rebels who murdered, raped, mutilated and enslaved civilians during Sierra Leone's civil war, which ended in 2002.

The trial started with a one-day hearing June fourth and sat for a second day later that month. Taylor boycotted both sittings after firing his court-funded attorney and complaining he was not getting a fair trial.

Presiding Judge Julia Sebutinde of Uganda adjourned the case after Taylor entered his plea Tuesday and Taylor returned to his cell in a special wing of a Hague jail.

The first prosecution witnesses had been due to be heard Tuesday, but prosecutors and a court official responsible for ensuring Taylor gets a fair trial filed a motion last week asking for the witness testimony to be delayed until August to give Taylor's new defense team—which has not yet been appointed—time to prepare.

Explaining the decision to grant the postponement, Sebutinde on Tuesday blamed officials in the court's registry for not appointing new defense attorneys in time for the trial to start and said Taylor "should not be penalized for the laxity of the registry."

She said that ordering an interim lawyer to defend Taylor for a week of hearings that had been scheduled to begin Tuesday "would indeed amount to a violation of Mr. Taylor's fair trial rights."

Taylor announced he had fired his attorney in a letter to the three-judge panel on the first day of hearings and demanded a more senior trial attorney, arguing that prosecutors had far more lawyers on their team.

Prosecutor Stephen Rapp dismissed Taylor's concerns as administrative issues "blown out of proportion in order to create a reason for what we view as obstructive conduct in this case."

Rapp added that Taylor was getting more money for his defense—up to US$ 2mn for the trial—than any other suspect charged by the court.

Prosecutors say they will call dozens of witnesses who will directly link Taylor to Sierra Leone rebels.

They claim the Liberian leader shipped rebels arms, ammunition and supplies such as alcohol and drugs used to desensitize children forced to fight. In return he got diamonds, often mined by slave laborers.

Although Taylor also is suspected of similar atrocities in his native Liberia, that country has not set up a war crimes court, opting instead for a truth and reconciliation commission.

Taylor is being tried by a UN-backed Sierra Leonean court. His trial is being staged in The Hague for fear it could trigger fresh unrest in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, where the Sierra Leone court is based.