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Charles Taylor Lawyer Says Trial is 'Neocolonialism'

   Scott Stearns  March 09, 2011
   Former  Liberian  President  Charles  Taylor  awaits  the start of the
   prosecution's  closing  arguments  during his trial at the U.N.-backed
   Special Court for Sierra Leone in Leidschendam, February 8, 2011

Photo: AP

   Former  Liberian  President  Charles  Taylor  awaits  the start of the
   prosecution's  closing  arguments  during his trial at the U.N.-backed
   Special Court for Sierra Leone in Leidschendam, February 8, 2011

   The  defense  has  begun  closing arguments in the war crimes trial of
   former Liberian president Charles Taylor.
   Lawyer Courtenay Griffiths told judges at The Hague Wednesday that the
   trial   is  "politically  motivated"  and  a  "21st  century  case  of
   neocolonialism."
   He  also  asked  why the Special Court for Sierra Leone did not indict
   Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.  Witnesses have testified that Gadhafi
   helped Taylor train Sierra Leone rebels.
   Taylor  is accused of arming rebels during Sierra Leone's civil war in
   exchange for looted diamonds.
   He  has  pleaded  not  guilty  to  11  counts of war crimes and crimes
   against humanity, including charges of murder and rape.
   The   former   president   was   in   the  courtroom  for  Wednesday's
   proceedings.   The  defense is scheduled to present two days of final
   arguments before prosecutors give their final rebuttal on Friday.
   The  Taylor  trial  has  taken  more  than  three  years, and involved
   testimony  from  more  than  110 witnesses, most of them called by the
   prosecution.
   The  [1]Special  Court for Sierra Leone indicted Taylor in June 2003.Â
   He  resigned as Liberia's president in August of that year and fled to
   Nigeria, which handed him over to the court in 2006.
   The  U.N.-backed  court  was  created  to  try  those  considered most
   responsible  for atrocities during Sierra Leone's brutal 10-year civil
   war.   The  rebels  Taylor  allegedly  supported  killed thousands of
   civilians and mutilated thousands more, often by chopping off people's
   limbs.
   The  trial  is being held at The Hague, in the Netherlands, because of
   concerns  that  trying Mr. Taylor in Sierra Leone could spark regional
   unrest.
   The  proceedings  were due to end nearly a month ago, were was delayed
   because  of  a  dispute between judges and Mr. Taylor's lawyers over a
   document summarizing his defense.  The court's appeals chamber forced
   the  judges  to accept the document, after they had ruled it was filed
   too late.

References

   1. http://www.sc-sl.org/

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