Charles Taylor’s Defence Lawyers Satisfied with Court’s Procedure

The defense team of imprisoned former Liberian president Charles Taylor, has over the weekend commended the progress of the proceedings made so far, six months after it commenced.

Mr Taylor is facing trial in The Hague, The Netherlands, despite being charged for offenses that took place in Sierra Leone between 1996 and 2002.

As the prosecution calls its fourteenth witness, the defense will continue its cross-examination of witnesses, challenging them effectively on the basis of bias, relevance, credibility, and the receipt of benefits from the prosecution in exchange for information.

In a recent interview by Charles Taylor’s lead counsel, Courtenay Griffiths to the United Nations’ radios in Liberia and Sierra Leone, he stressed that despite the fact that the trial was moved from West Africa, he considered the people of West Africa to be Mr Taylor’s “jury”.

“The public may have convicted Mr Taylor long ago, but the evidence currently being put forth in the courtroom is not sufficient to secure a conviction,” he said.

The defense is deeply concerned that key evidence in the case may be given in “closed session,” meaning Mr Taylor could be convicted on evidence which no one outside the courtroom has heard.

Closed sessions make the case difficult for the defense to investigate, and difficult for West Africans to evaluate, Griffiths maintained.

Source African Press Agency

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