Taylor takes stand to deny war crimes

THE HAGUE – Liberia’s former President Charles Taylor, the first African ruler to stand trial for war crimes, took the stand in his own defence yesterday, arguing that the case against him was full of misinformation and lies.

Taylor, 61, is charged with 11 counts of instigating murder, rape, mutilation, sexual slavery and conscripting child soldiers during the intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone in which more than 250 000 people were killed.’I am not guilty of all these charges,’ Taylor told the three judges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone.Prosecutors, who closed their case in February, say Taylor directed Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in a campaign of terror against civilians, seeking to control neighbouring Sierra Leone’s diamond mines and destabilise its government to boost his regional influence.’It is quite incredible that such descriptions of me would come about,’ Taylor responded after his lawyer asked whether he was a terrorist. ‘The prosecution, because of disinformation, misinformation, lies, rumours, would associate me with such titles or descriptions.’Taylor’s defence began their case this week, two years after the start of the trial.’I am a father of 14 children, grandchildren, with love for humanity and have fought all my life to do what I thought was right. I resent that characterisation of me. It is false, it is malicious.’ATROCITIESA confident Taylor, appearing in a dark suit and dark glasses before a packed court, is the first of 249 witnesses that the defence said it will call to the stand. Taylor’s testimony is expected to last several weeks.Prosecutors called 91 witnesses, many of whom provided graphic testimony, before wrapping up their case in February. In often graphic and disturbing detail, witnesses described amputations, murder of children and cannibalism in Sierra Leone.Courtenay Griffiths, Taylor’s lawyer, has said he would not contest the fact that atrocities took place, but said Taylor had no link to them. Instead, Taylor was trying to broker peace in Sierra Leone, his lawyer argues.Asked by Griffiths whether he ever received diamonds in exchange for arms for the RUF rebels, Taylor said, ‘Never, ever did I receive, whether it is mayonnaise or coffee or whatever jar, any diamonds from the RUF.’’It is a lie, a diabolical lie,’ he added.Taylor has been on trial in The Hague since June 2007 at facilities provided by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The court is headquartered in Freetown, but the trial is taking place in the Netherlands due to concerns it may trigger violence in Sierra Leone.Taylor, born in 1948, became Liberia’s president in 1997 after a protracted civil war. Before this, he was briefly imprisoned in the United States on charges of embezzling from a previous Liberian government, but escaped from a Massachusetts prison and went on to lead an uprising in Liberia.Taylor stepped down in 2003 and went into exile in Nigeria, and was later arrested and sent to The Hague in 2006. – Nampa-ReutersA timeline of Charles Taylor’s rise and fallJanuary 28, 1948: Charles Taylor born in Arthington, Liberia, into a family descended from freed American slaves.1970s: Lives in Boston area of the United States, earning an economics degree from Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts.1983: Flees Liberia after being accused of embezzling nearly US$1 million. He is later detained in the United States on a Liberian arrest warrant.1985: Escapes from a Massachusetts jail.December 1989: Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia rebel group launches armed uprising in Liberia, sparking a conflict that leaves 200 000 dead.1991-2002: Sierra Leone civil war.August 2, 1997: Taylor elected Liberia’s president following years of civil war.March 3, 2003: Special Court for Sierra Leone indicts Taylor on charges including murder, rape, sexual slavery, conscripting child soldiers and terrorising civilians for his support of rebels during Sierra Leone civil war. Indictment is unsealed on June 4, 2003, during Taylor’s first overseas trip since his indictment.August 11, 2003: Taylor resigns and flies into exile in Nigeria.May 31, 2004: Appeals judges reject Taylor’s claim that he was immune from prosecution because he was a serving head of state when indicted.Late March 2006: Taylor disappears after Nigeria agrees, amid international pressure, that he should stand trial.March 29, 2006: Taylor taken into custody as he tries to cross border from Nigeria to Cameroon. Is transferred to the special court in Sierra Leone. Then-prosecutor Desmond De Silva says Taylor’s arrest ‘sends out the clear message that no matter how rich, powerful or feared people may be – the law is above them.’June 20, 2006: Taylor transferred to UN detention block in The Hague to await trial.June 4, 2007: Trial starts with prosecution’s opening statement. Taylor fires his lawyer and boycotts the proceedings.January 7, 2008: Trial resumes with new defence lawyer after a 6-month delay.July 13, 2009: Taylor begins his defence.