Liberian Ex-President on Trial, Challenges ‘Lies’
Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, took the stand on Tuesday to defend himself against 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The first African leader to be tried by an international tribunal, Taylor is deemed responsible for atrocities committed during the civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002), in a tale of murder, rape, amputations, child soldiers and diamonds.
Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, took the stand on Tuesday to defend himself against 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The first African leader to be tried by an international tribunal, Taylor is deemed responsible for atrocities committed during the civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002), in a tale of murder, rape, amputations, child soldiers and diamonds.
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...The New York Times:
Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, took the stand in his own defense at The Hague on Tuesday and immediately denied a catalog of horrifying charges based on testimony by prosecution witnesses telling stories of violence, rape, amputation and even cannibalism.
“This whole case against me is a case of deceit, deception and lies,” he told the Special Court for Sierra Leone sitting at The Hague.
It was his first time in the stand. Mr. Taylor — the first African leader to be tried for war crimes — said he had “fought all my life to do what I thought was right,” news reports said.
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Supermodels might do well to keep their manicured hands out of global politics, judging by the case of Naomi Campbell and her questionable link to ousted Liberian President Charles Taylor (continued).
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor has found a new religion, reports say. The one-time African dictator, on trial at The Hague accused of crimes against humanity, has decided to convert to Judaism. According to one of his wives, after arriving in the Netherlands "he got to know that he really, really wanted to be a Jew."
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