Crimes of War: Former Liberian Leader on Trial
Lead prosecutor Stephen Rapp talks about the charges against former Liberian President Charles Taylor. Taylor is pledging to boycott the proceedings. He stands accused of human rights violations in the 11-year civil war in Sierra Leone.
Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
MICHEL MARTIN, host:
I'm Michel Martin. This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor boycotted the beginning of his war crimes trial today in The Hague. In a statement read by a defense attorney, Taylor denounced the court and said I cannot participate in the charade that has no justice to the people of Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Taylor stands accused of numerous human rights violations for his rule in the 11-year civil war in Sierra Leone. That conflict devastated the country, leaving thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.
In a moment, we'll hear from Emira Woods, an Africa policy expert at the Institute for Policy Studies. And we'll also speak with David Crane, the former prosecutor who pursued human rights charges against Taylor.
But with us now is Steven Rapp. He is the current prosecutor for the special court for Sierra Leone. He joins us by phone from his office at The Hague. Welcome to the program.
Mr. STEVEN RAPP (Prosecutor, Sierra Leone Special Court): Good to be on today.
MARTIN: Would you please tell us what was Charles Taylor's role in the civil war in Sierra Leone and how that led to his prosecution?
Mr. RAPP: Well, he, in essence, was the author of the civil war in Sierra Leone. He developed the plan, together with others. And the evidence shows from the beginning that he was providing the - not only some soldiers for that battle, but also the key arms.
MARTIN: What was Taylor's motivation?
Mr. RAPP: Well, first of all, he wanted power in Liberia. He wanted a friendly government joining Liberia and Sierra Leone. He also wanted to have the benefit of the resources, the abundant natural resources - particularly diamonds that were available in Sierra Leone.
MARTIN: He was indicted on these charges back in 2003, as I understand it. Why is the trial going forward now?
Mr. RAPP: First of all, because he was not arrested until 2006. You have David Crane on later, and he'll describe the valiant efforts to obtain his arrest and transfer that continued for a period of three years. And now, we commence the trial, a trial that we believe we can conclude in about 18 months.
MARTIN: Are you going to be able to secure witnesses to testify?
Mr. RAPP: They are willing to come - understand that they are often frightened. Many of them are worried about efforts to come after them for retribution if they testify. Particularly challenging is the issue of the insider witnesses, those are so key to holding a leader responsible because he's not, and they have never alleged the man that's out there are shooting people himself or hacking off limbs with a machete, that he's at distance from the crime. And it's, of course, necessary to have people that are close to him to prove his involvement.
MARTIN: Taylor is the first former African head of state to be brought before an international court, as I understand it. Is that significant? And if so, why is it significant?
Mr. RAPP: The transfer of Taylor, the arrest of Taylor and the trial of Taylor I think makes everything new. And I think it sends this clear signal to those that might be committing atrocities in Darfur or elsewhere that their day, too, will come.
MARTIN: I hope we'll have an opportunity to speak again as the trial proceeds.
Mr. RAPP: I'm sure there will be those opportunities during the next 18 months and thereafter.
MARTIN: Steven Rapp is the prosecutor for the special court for Sierra Leone. He joined us by phone from his office at The Hague. Thank you so much for being with us.
Mr. RAPP: Very good - very good to be with you.
Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
Ex-Liberian Leader Defies War Crimes Tribunal
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor didn't show up for the opening of his war crimes trial, and his assigned lawyer walked out of the courtroom in a dramatic opening to the landmark first international tribunal of a former African leader.
Lawyer Karim Khan said Taylor had fired him and wanted to act as his own defense attorney. Khan walked out even though Presiding Judge Julia Sebutinde of Uganda repeatedly directed him to continue to represent Taylor, if only for the opening day.
Apologizing and defying threats of contempt of court, Khan gathered his files and left the room.
"This is not defense counsel making some cheap trick," Khan told The Associated Press outside the courtroom. Taylor "thought this was a railroad to a conviction, and in those circumstances, he exercised his right to terminate my representation and to represent himself."
The court ordered the trial to continue, and Chief Prosecutor Stephen Rapp began outlining the horrors inflicted on Sierra Leone villagers by forces allegedly under Taylor's control.
The attackers randomly murdered people and enslaved others to use as fighters, miners and farmers, Rapp said. Then "the attackers would mutilate — amputating arms, limbs, gouging eyes. Children conscripted by the attackers killing their own parents," he added.
Taylor, 59, has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court has no death sentence and no maximum sentence if he is convicted.
The prosecution was making a four-hour opening statement Monday, after which the case was to adjourn for three weeks. It was unclear who would be sitting on the defense bench when it resumes June 25. The trial is expected to last 18 months.
In a letter read to judges by Khan, Taylor claimed he had been prevented from seeing a court official mandated with making sure he is properly defended and that his one court-appointed attorney was heavily outgunned by the prosecution team of nine.
"At one time, I had confidence in this court's ability to dispense justice. Over time, it has become clear that confidence has been misplaced," Taylor's statement said. "I will not receive a fair trial."
Sebutinde, the presiding judge, repeatedly interrupted Khan's reading of Taylor's letter, demanding an explanation for Taylor's absence.
"We are not interested in political speeches," she told the lawyer.
The atrocities in Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war are well-documented. Fighters — often children drugged and turned into merciless killers at brutal rebel training camps — murdered thousands of men, women and children and mutilated more by hacking off hands and limbs with axes and machetes. Women were raped and abducted to become sex slaves.
Many victims had the initials of rebel groups carved into their skin with burning-hot bayonets. Children were sent out with burlap bags to hack off and collect limbs and were punished if the bags were not full when they returned.
When witnesses begin testifying, survivors, including amputees, will take the stand along with former allies from Taylor's inner sanctum who will be critical to proving he controlled rebels responsible for atrocities in another country.
Taylor was indicted in 2003, accused of sponsoring Sierra Leone's rebel Revolutionary United Front in exchange for diamonds. Taylor agreed to give up power and go into exile, but he was arrested in Nigeria in March 2006.
He was transferred to The Hague a year ago amid fears that his trial in Sierra Leone could trigger fresh violence in the region. His trial will take place in a courtroom rented from the International Criminal Court by the U.N.-backed court that usually sits in Sierra Leone and was established to try those held most responsible for the war.
From The Associated Press
Comments
Discussions for this story are now closed. Please see the Community FAQ for more information.