Taylor trial may end by year end
2010-02-10 10:46
New York - The acting prosecutor for the UN-backed Sierra Leone court said Tuesday he was confident that Charles Taylor's trial would wrap up by year's end with war crimes charges against Liberia's ex-leader sustained.
"We hope to see this case completed by the end of the year. We are quite sure about the credibility of our evidence," Joseph Kamara, the court's deputy prosecutor said. "We have 11 counts against him. We are quite hopeful they will all be sustained."
Taylor, one of Africa's most feared warlords, faces 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity before the Special Court for Sierra leone in The Hague.
He is specifically accused of sponsoring and aiding rebel groups who perpetrated murder, sexual slavery, mutilation and conscription of child soldiers in Sierra Leone's 1991-2001 civil war in exchange for a share in the lucrative diamond trade. He denies the charges.
"The quality of evidence (against Taylor) is strong. It's cohesive, coherent and consistent and our expectations are that we will succeed," Kamara said.
Defense lawyers, however, have argued that the prosecution is focusing mainly on Taylor's alleged activities in Liberia while the trial, which began in earnest in January 2008 in The Hague, is about his alleged role in Sierre Leone's civil war.
Kamara said the defense team asked that the trial be adjourned for one week to give it extra time to review documents and prepare for a re-examination of the defendant. The proceedings in The Hague are to resume next Monday.
Taylor took the stand in his own defense last July and completed his evidence in November.
Kamara said it was normal for a trial of this magnitude to last that long given the large number of witnesses and the exhaustive investigative process involved.
Taylor is seen as the single most powerful figure behind a series of civil wars in Liberia and neighboring Sierra Leone between 1989 and 2003, which left around 400 000 people dead.