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Liberian Ruler Can Be Tried, Court Rules
June 1, 2004
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
DAKAR, Senegal, May 31 - Charles G. Taylor, the former
Liberian president accused of crimes against humanity in
connection with a rebel insurrection in neighboring Sierra
Leone, can be prosecuted by an international war crimes
tribunal, a United Nations-backed court in Sierra Leone
ruled Monday.
Mr. Taylor's lawyers had argued that a court in one country
had no right to try the head of state of another country.
But the four judges on the appeals panel of the Special
Court for Sierra Leone rejected that argument, ruling that
as an international tribunal, the special court does have
that authority. The ruling clears the last legal hurdle for
the prosecution, but another more daunting one remains.
Nigeria, which has sheltered Mr. Taylor since he stepped
down as president of Liberia in August 2003, has so far
rebuffed demands to turn him over to the court in Sierra
Leone. The Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said
only that he would return his guest to his home country if
the Liberian courts seek to prosecute him.
Liberia, which emerged from 14 years of crushing civil war
with Mr. Taylor's departure, has issued no such request.
Mr. Taylor's lawyer in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital,
declined to comment on the special court's ruling. "I
haven't read the report, so how can I comment on it?" said
the lawyer, Terrence Terry.
The special court was created jointly by the United Nations
and the government of Sierra Leone to punish the
ringleaders of that country's decade-long war. Mr. Taylor
is the most prominent among 11 people indicted so far. He
faces 17 counts of murder, rape and other crimes against
humanity in connection with the support he reportedly gave
the rebels in Sierra Leone.
"With this decision, Charles Taylor has no more legal cards
to play," said Richard Dicker, director of international
justice for Human Rights Watch, based in New York. "The
time has come for Nigeria to hand Taylor over to the
special court.'' The special court will begin its first
trial on Thursday. Among the defendants is Sam Hinga
Norman, a former government minister in Sierra Leone
accused of raising a terrifying pro-government militia, the
Kamajors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/01/international/africa/01libe.html?ex=1087120347&ei=1&en=9e26e0b22e3bccef
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