Liberia: Special Court ready to help Liberia prosecute war criminals, says Prosecutor
By Othello Garblah
Monrovia, Liberia, 21st Dec. 2007 - Sierra Leone Special Court Prosecutor Stephen Rapp says the UN-backed court would be prepared to assist Liberia in the prosecution of individuals who may have committed war crimes but are not being prosecuted at the international level. Rapp was speaking in Monrovia ahead of the restart of ex-president Charles Taylor’s war crimes trial in The Hague in January.
Photo © Julia Crawford BBC World Service
Trust.
Taylor is on trial before the Special Court for crimes linked to his alleged role in Sierra Leone’s civil war. He has pleaded not guilty.
“There are lot of other individuals who may have committed crimes who could be appropriately prosecuted at the lower levels,” Rapp said, “and the United Nations has encouraged us to share that information with national authorities for them to do what they wish. And I wanted to express our view that we are prepared to do that.”
Rapp said he had conveyed this message during a meeting with Liberian Justice Minister Philip Banks. “We discussed various things that are happening in the legal system here, whether there is any possibility of any prosecution under the national system of individuals that may have been involved in similar crimes. Obviously, we are prepared to cooperate, sharing any evidence that we have if that occurs. We are just saying we are prepared to assist… and with all of the tribunals, with all of the international courts, we recognize that the cases that we prosecute are only at the very highest level.”
Liberians are divided over whether the country needs a war crimes tribunal as well as a truth and reconciliation commission (TRC). Some say the country should just embrace the TRC process and move on, while others are calling for a tribunal.
The Special Court prosecutor also said the court was interested in getting back Liberia’s wealth that might have been converted into Taylor’s personal account. “There are questions regarding Taylor’s assets. There are allegations. International NGOs report that Taylor still owns hundreds of million of dollars in Liberia. So there is no question that a great deal of public resources were taken by him. We are interested in using our process to help Liberia get back what it deserves.”
Rapp said presentation of evidence in Taylor’s trial would open on January 7, 2008 with an expert witness for the prosecution. He said the prosecution has 62 witnesses to testify against Taylor, of whom 20 are Liberian. Rapp confirmed reports that Netherlands based historian Stephen Ellis is also expected to testify as an expert witness. Ellis is author of The Mask of Anarchy, a book about the Liberian civil war.
The BBC World Service Trust is not responsible for the content or reliability of the information provided in this story and will not be held accountable for any third party copyright infringments.