Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president on trial at The Hague for war crimes committed in Sierra Leone, finally broke his boycott of the court Tuesday. At Tuesday’s hearing Taylor plead not guilty to a slightly amended charge and the court explained their reasoning behind delaying the trial yet again until August 20. Taylor has caused delays and problems with the trial since the opening statements in June when he failed to show up and instead sent a letter to the judge firing his lawyer and failing to recognize the court’s authority. The most recent delay was due to the fact that Taylor had not yet been appointed a new attorney.
A court official on Friday released the details of the money Taylor will receive for his defense. Taylor will receive a package worth $100,000 per month. This package includes $70,000 per month for the legal team. He will also get a senior investigator and office space in The Hague, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. This package is almost three times higher than any other case at the special court and twice as high as any at the Yugoslavia tribunal. Taylor is entitled to receive the funds because the court has ruled that he is indigent, despite the fact that United Nations experts suggest he has millions of dollars hidden in bank accounts throughout the world.
Taylor has repeatedly requested that a top-UK attorney known as a Queen’s Counsel represent him. Stephen Kay, a leading British barrister who represented Slobodan Milosevic at the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia until Milosevic’s death in March 2006, has been in talks with the Special Court for Sierra Leone to take over Taylor’s defense.
Meanwhile, the Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Group (SLCMP) issued a statement Tuesday that the Special Court violated a United Nations Security Council Resolution after the Court failed to broadcast the hearing. Resolution 1688 requires the Court to make the trial accessible to the people of West Africa, including Sierra Leone, through a video link. SLCMP stated that Tuesday’s hearing was for yet another delay, which further delayed justice for the people who suffered during the civil war. Those people deserve to hear the proceedings, so that they can understand the workings of the judicial court and know what is going on. Head of Press and Public Affairs at the Special Court responded that the failure to broadcast is not due to a desire to violate the Resolution nor a lack of seriousness by the Court, but rather a technical problem that is beyond their making. He promised that the issued will be solved by the time the proceedings begin in earnest in August.
For more information, please see:
Independent – War Crimes Trial Gives Taylor More Legal Funds – 07 July 2007
Institute for War and Peace – Milosevic Lawyer in Talks Over Taylor Defense – 06 July 2007
International Herald Tribune – Court grants Taylor More Money for Defense in Sierra Leone War Crimes Trial – 06 July 2007
AllAfrica – Special Court Violates UN Resolution – 05 July 2007
