Global Policy Forum

By Lemmy Ughegbe

The United Nations-backed war crimes court for Sierra Leone is to rule next week on whether an indictment against former Liberian president Charles Taylor can proceed, said court sources. Taylor is accused of backing the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in their decade-long rebel war that ended in 2001 in the west African state. In exchange for vast quantities of so-called "blood diamonds", Taylor is claimed to have armed and trained RUF fighters, notorious for recruiting child soldiers and hacking off people's limbs in the brutal war which claimed about 200 000 lives. The Sierra Leone court brought their charges against Taylor in June even as the United Nations was working to secure an agreement to send him into exile to end the 14 years of war in Liberia that began with his rebellion against the slain president, Samuel Doe. Rebels rose up in 1999 to oust Taylor from the presidency he seized in 1997.

Nigeria under pressure

Court spokesperson Peter Anderson said the tribunal's appeals court would rule on January 27 on the pre-trial motion brought in November by lawyers for Taylor to quash the charges. Defence counsel has argued the indictment is invalid because it was issued when Taylor was a sitting president, and has questioned the legitimacy of the court. Taylor's host in exile, Nigeria, has come under increasing international and domestic pressure to hand him over to face justice in Sierra Leone, but has balked, saying they would return him only to Liberia to stand trial. The international police organisation, Interpol, put Taylor on the "world's most-wanted list" in December, but has done little to convince Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to give up his guest. Obasanjo has warned, however, that Taylor risks losing his asylum if he interferes in his country's fledgling peace process.

13 charged, nine being held

If the appeals court rules in Taylor's favour on Tuesday, the Interpol arrest warrant would be mooted. Other motions to be decided by the appeals court include a prosecution request to try several defendants together so as to ensure a speedy and fair trial and make it easier for witnesses to testify, Anderson said. The Sierra Leone court has already charged 13 people for war crimes, and is holding nine detainees

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