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Taylor appears in court

[Liberia] Liberian President Charles Taylor. AP
President Charles Taylor has promised to step down next Monday
    DAKAR

    Liberian President Charles Taylor has appeared in court at The Hague for a hearing related to charges of war crimes against him.

    Taylor has pleaded not guilty to the 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from the conflict in Sierra Leone where diamonds were used to purchase arms.

    Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels allegedly backed by Taylor were notorious in Sierra Leone for hacking off limbs and otherwise mutilating their victims.

    Taylor’s attorney told the court that he was unlikely to be ready for trial before July 2007.

    Taylor was indicted by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in Freetown but was transferred to The Hague last month after Liberians and Sierra Leoneans expressed fears that the region could be destabilised if his trial were held in West Africa. The Special Court retains jurisdiction.

    Taylor triggered 14 years of civil war in Liberia when he launched a rebellion from neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire in December 1989 to unseat President Samuel Doe, who was later killed.

    Taylor went into exile in Nigeria in August 2003 and was transferred to the Special Court after Liberia’s new president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, requested his extradition.

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    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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