Charles Taylor's last bid to fight war crimes charges
Lawyers for former Liberian president Charles Taylor have asked a UN-backed war crimes court for permission to reopen their defence case, saying a recently published Security Council report could help clear him of charges he sent fighters to commit atrocities in Sierra Leone's civil war.
In the written request filed on Tuesday and released on Wednesday by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Taylor's lawyers seek to introduce into evidence about 20 pages of a UN panel of experts report on Liberia that discusses the activities of mercenaries.
Taylor's lawyers argued the report supports their claim that Liberian fighters crossed into neighbouring countries to fight for personal gain "rather than in furtherance of a sweeping joint criminal enterprise" led by Taylor.
They say the report shows that Liberian fighters were able to cross into Sierra Leone "without being under the direction or control of Mr Taylor and without the implicit approval of the government of Liberia".
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-02-01-charles-taylors-last-bid-to-stave-off-war-crimes-charges
