Liberia's Ex-Ruler Taylor Boycotts Start of War Crimes Trial
04 June 2007
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is boycotting the start of his war crimes trial in The Hague, saying he does not believe the proceedings will be fair.
Taylor said Monday in a letter read by his lawyer that he has lost confidence in the U.N.-backed "court's ability to dispense justice." The former president did not appear in court and says he will not attend any hearings.
Taylor is charged with 11 counts of war crimes committed during Sierra Leone's civil war between 1991 and 2002.
He has pleaded not guilty to accusations of murder, rape, terrorism and other atrocities. The charges arise from his support for rebel militias during the conflict.
A former prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, David Crane, told VOA that today's trial is a milestone, because it is the first time an African head of state is being prosecuted for war crimes.
Taylor is accused of providing weapons and ammunition to rebels in return for diamonds plundered from Sierra Leone's mines.
Tens of thousands of people died in the country's civil war. The conflict was marked by murder, mass rapes, mutilation of civilians and the recruiting of child soldiers.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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