Taylor 'had ties with rebels'
2008-01-09 15:25
The Hague - A former insider working for Charles Taylor's security services on Wednesday told the war crimes trial of the former Liberian president of the alleged ties between Taylor and RUF rebels in Sierra Leone.
Varmuyan Sherif, who worked for Taylor's Special Security Service and organised his motorcade, told the court that the presidential mansion in Monrovia had a special radio link up to the RUF.
He also recounted a trip to Sierra Leone he was sent on to bring back one of the RUF leaders to Liberia in late 1998, early 1999.
"Taylor told me 'Sherif will you go to RUF territory and get (RUF leader) Sam Bockarie for me'," the witness testified.
Taylor was accused of arming, training and controlling the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in Sierra Leone in exchange for still-unknown quantities of diamonds.
Taylor pleads not guilty
The former Liberian leader faced 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including terrorising the civilian population, murder, rape and the use of child soldiers. He had pleaded not guilty.
When Sherif went to Sierra Leone and met Bockarie, also known as Mosquito, and told him Taylor sent him, the RUF leader was suspicious and wanted to check.
The next day Sherif was taken to a radio room where immediate contact was established with the president's mansion and Bockarie spoke to the witnesses' boss.
He said: "(Director of Special Security Services Joseph) Montgomery told him whatever instructions I have given (Sherif) they come from mister Taylor, please comply with them."
Sherif later checked and found there was a special long range country to country radio in the presidential mansion to contact the RUF.
According to the prosecution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Taylor controlled RUF rebel forces in neighbouring Sierra Leone who went on a blood diamond-funded rampage of killing, mutilation and rape during the 1991-2001 civil war.
Around 120 000 people were killed in the conflict, with rebels mutilating thousands more, cutting off arms, legs, ears or noses.
Sherif was the first so-called insider witness of the prosecution called to establish the link between Taylor, who was president of Liberia during most of the time covered by the indictment, and the rebel forces who actually committed the crimes on the ground in Sierra Leone.