Charles Taylor (Liberian Politician) - Trial

Trial

The SCSL prosecutor originally indicted Taylor on 3 March 2003 on a 17 count indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict in Sierra Leone. On 16 March 2006, a SCSL judge gave leave to amend the indictment against Taylor. Under the amended indictment, Taylor was charged with 11 counts. At Taylor's initial appearance before the court on 3 April 2006, he entered a plea of not guilty.

In early June 2006, the decision on whether to hold Taylor's trial in Freetown or in The Hague had not yet been made by the new SCSL president, George Gelaga King. King's predecessor had pushed for the trial to be held abroad because of fear that a local trial would be politically destabilizing in an area where Taylor still had influence. The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court dismissed a motion by Taylor's defense team, who argued that their client could not get a fair trial there and also wanted the Special Court to withdraw the request to move the trial to The Hague.

On 15 June 2006, the British government agreed to jail Taylor in the United Kingdom in the event that he is convicted by the SCSL. This fulfilled a condition laid down by the Dutch government, who had stated they were willing to host the trial but would not jail him if convicted. British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett stated that new legislation would be required to accommodate this arrangement. While awaiting his extradition to the Netherlands, Taylor was held in a UN jail in Freetown.

On 16 June 2006, the United Nations Security Council agreed unanimously to allow Taylor to be sent to The Hague for trial; on 20 June 2006, Taylor was extradited and flown to Rotterdam Airport in the Netherlands. He was taken into custody and held in the detention centre of the International Criminal Court, located in the Scheveningen section of The Hague. The Association for the Legal Defense of Charles G. Taylor was established in June 2006 to assist in his legal defense.

When Taylor's trial opened 4 June 2007, Taylor boycotted the proceeding and was not present. Through a letter which was read by his attorney to the court, he justified his absence by alleging that at that moment he was not ensured a fair and impartial trial.

On 20 August 2007, Taylor's defense now led by Courtenay Griffiths obtained a postponement of the trial until 7 January 2008. During the trial, the chief prosecutor alleged that a key insider witness who testified against Taylor went into hiding after being threatened for giving evidence against Taylor. Furthermore, Joseph "Zigzag" Marzah, a former military commander, testified that Charles Taylor celebrated his new-found status during the civil war by ordering human sacrifice, including the killings of Taylor's opponents and allies that were perceived to have betrayed Taylor, and by having a pregnant woman buried alive in sand. Marzah also accused Taylor of forcing cannibalism on his soldiers in order to terrorize their enemies.

In January 2009, the prosecution finished presenting its evidence against Taylor and closed its case on 27 February 2009. On 4 May 2009, a defense motion for a judgment on acquittal was dismissed, and arguments for Taylor's defense began in July 2009. Taylor testified in his own defense from July through November 2009. The defense rested its case on 12 November 2010, with closing arguments set for early February 2011.

On 8 February 2011, the trial court ruled in a 2–1 decision that it would not accept Taylor's trial summary, as the summary had not been submitted by 14 January deadline. In response, Taylor and his counsel boycotted the trial and refused an order by the court to begin closing arguments. This boycott came soon after the 2010 leak of American diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks, in which the United States discussed the possibility of extraditing Taylor for prosecution in the United States in the event of his acquittal by the SCSL. Taylor's counsel cited the leaked cable and the court's decision as evidence of an international conspiracy against Taylor.

On 3 March, the appeals court of the SCSL overturned the trial court's decision, ruling that as the trial court had not established that Taylor had been counseled by the court and personally indicated his intent to waive his right to a trial summary, Taylor's due process rights would be violated by preventing him from submitting a trial summary. The appeals court ordered the trial court to accept the summary and set a date for the beginning of closing arguments. On 11 March, the closing arguments ended and it was announced that the court would begin the process to reach a verdict.