THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The special court trying former Liberian President Charles Taylor for war crimes held a final status conference today. The hearing lasted less than ten minutes, and the prosecution and defense both agreed they would be ready to begin hearing evidence on January 7.  The trial is expected to continue until mid-2009. 

Taylor was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, but is being tried in The Hague under fears that it would ignite violence if held in Freetown.  Taylor’s trial began in June, but it was postponed to allow Taylor’s new defense team more team to prepare.

For more information, please see:

AP – Taylor War Crimes Trial to Resume in Jan. – 11 December 2007

Jurist – Taylor defense set for January war crimes trial resumption – 11 December 2007

For more information on Charles Taylor, please see the following Impunity Watch reports: Charles Taylor Appointed New Lawyer; Charles Taylor Trial Delayed; Reactions to Beginning of Charles Taylor Trial; Thoughts on Charles Taylor Trial; Opening Day in Charles Taylor Trial