Communicating Justice

Charles Taylor trial weekly summaries (September 1 - 5, 2008)

by Joseph Cheeseman reporting from the Hague

September 1, 2008
The war crimes trial of Charles Taylor entered its third week after the summer break on Monday September 1st , with the prosecution’s 36th witness shifting blame about atrocities from the RUF to the AFRC Junta.  The witness testified that the RUF was a decent organization until the AFRC joined them.

The witness told the defence team that the amputation of civilians was introduced in the Sierra Leone civil war by the AFRC Junta and not the RUF. He said the junta joined the war with the intent of revenge.

The witness said that under the leadership of Foday Sankoh, the RUF ideology prohibited amputation, looting, rape and the burning of houses. He said the atrocities of the Junta were blamed on the RUF.

Click here to listen to Joseph Cheeseman's report (September 1, 2008)

September 2, 2008
The prosecution’s 37th witness at the Special Court for Sierra Leone testified to Charles Taylor’s role in the release of some UN Peacekeepers captured by the RUF, the change of the RUF leadership, the supply of arms and ammunition and the safekeeping of the RUF’s diamonds and money.

The Insider witness, using a distorted voice,  said it was Charles Taylor’s desire to become Chairman of ECOWAS that caused him to facilitate the release of the UN Peacekeepers in 2000.

He said Taylor invited RUF Commander, Issa Sesay to the Executive Mansion in Monrovia and ordered him to release the captured UN Peacekeepers.

The witness testifying on direct examination, said that on July 26, 2000, in the presence of four African Heads of State, Charles Taylor effected the change of the RUF leadership.
The witness named President Olusegun Obassanjo of Nigeria, Nassagbe Eyeadema of Togo, Yahya Jemmeh of Gambia and Omar Konare of Mali. The witness said that in a meeting held at the Executive Mansion in Monrovia with the four heads of state, Mr. Taylor stated why the RUF leadership should be changed.

Click here to listen to Joseph Cheeseman's report (September 2, 2008)

September 3, 2008
The war crimes trial of Charles Taylor has made another big revelation of the mediatory role of some ECOWAS Leaders in the Sierra Leone conflict and its impact on Taylor and the RUF. The Insider witness of the prosecution named Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obassanjo as the man who encouraged the relationship between Taylor and the RUF.

The witness, testifying from behind a shield with his voice distorted for security reasons, said that at a July 26 meeting held in 2002 in Monrovia, Nigerian President Olusegun Obassanjo praised the relationship between Charles Taylor and the RUF. The witness said Mr. Obassanjo told the RUF delegation to keep up the relationship with Mr. Taylor.

The protected witness said that after the meeting with the four African Leaders, Taylor sent for Issa Sesay and two other members of the RUF delegation at about 12 midnight and told them not to take advice from what he called British controlled leaders.

Click here to listen to Joseph Cheeseman's report (September 3, 2008)

September 4, 2008
The Defence Team of Charles Taylor has shifted the allegation of arms supply to the Former Sierra Leonean Rebel Group, the RUF from their client to other groups.  Last week a witness under cross-examination affirmed that the RUF got ammunition from the ULIMO, a Liberian Rebel group. Again the defence has led the prosecution’s 37th witness into admitting that Ukrainians supplied arms to the joint forces of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, AFRC and the RUF.

The Insider Witness admitted to Defence Lawyer, Terry Munyard, that arms supplied to the AFRC and the RUF by the Ukrainians were negotiated by Johnny Paul Koroma. He said the Ukrainians dropped the arms and ammunition from a helicopter at the Magburaka Air Strip in Sierra Leone.

Click here to listen to Joseph Cheeseman's report (September 4, 2008)

September 5, 2008
An Insider Witness testifying in The Hague  attributed the delay of the disarmament process to the instruction Former Liberian President, Charles Taylor.

The witness, during re-direct examination by prosecution lawyer, Brenda Hollis, said Mr. Taylor instructed the leadership of the RUF not to disarm in certain parts of Sierra Leone. The witness told the court that Issa Sesay said Taylor was planning to invade Guinea.

A female witness only identified as TF1-585 is now testifying against Charles Taylor. She is testifying in Krio from behind a shield. Her voice is distorted beyond recognition. She said there was a radio communication link between RUF controlled areas in Sierra Leone and Taylor’s administration in Liberia.

Click here to listen to Joseph Cheeseman's report (September 5, 2008)