All Africa (Free subscription) | 02/11/2009
Charles Taylor did not have a "master-servant" relationship with Sierra Leone's notorious rebel commander Sam Bockarie ("Mosquito"), the former Liberian president told Special Court for Sierra Leone judges in The Hague today.
All Africa (Free subscription) | 27/11/2009
Mr. Taylor was responding to questions during his cross-examination today on his decision to host Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leader Foday Sankoh, his deputy Sam Bockarie and Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) leader Johnny Paul Koroma in a meeting in Liberia. Mr. Taylor explained that after the signing of the peace agreement between the government of Sierra Leone and the RUF in...
All Africa (Free subscription) | 26/11/2009
Mr. Nicholas Koumjian, stepping in for the indisposed lead prosecutor, Ms. Brenda Hollis, who fell ill yesterday and could not recover in time to attend court today, asked Mr. Taylor about Revolutionary United Front (RUF) commander Sam Bockarie's 1998 visit to Burkina Faso, during which it is alleged that the rebel commander transported arms and ammunition through Liberia for use by rebel forces...
All Africa (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009
Ms. Hollis, referencing Mr. Taylor's May 2000 meeting with United States Special Envoy for Africa, Rev. Jesse Jackson, accused Mr. Taylor of not giving Rev. Jackson an honest answer when he did not admit that former Revolutionary United Front (RUF) commander Sam Bockarie and his fighters were being trained as mercenaries by Mr. Taylor in Liberia. Mr. Taylor "misled" the US envoy, as Ms. Hollis...
All Africa (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009
Charles Taylor did not order the execution of Sierra Leonean rebel commander Sam Bockarie, but rather sent his former vice president Moses Blah to arrest him on the Liberian border with Ivory Coast, the accused former Liberian president told Special Court for Sierra Leone judges in The Hague today.
All Africa (Free subscription) | 27/10/2009
Former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, took to the witness stand again today after a three week judicial break, denying allegations that he ordered the execution of a key Sierra Leonean rebel commander, Sam Bockarie, during his neighboring country's vicious civil war. Mr. Taylor is on trial in The Hague for his alleged role in war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious crimes...
All Africa (Free subscription) | 28/10/2009
Mr. Taylor was refuting the testimony of a prosecution witness Jabaty Jaward, a former member of Sierra Leone's rebel group Revolutionary United Front (RUF) who was later recruited into Mr. Taylor's Anti Terrorist Unit (ATU) in Liberia. In 2008, Mr. Jaward testified that he was part of a team that launched rebel attacks in Ivory Coast under the command of RUF commander Sam Bockarie, with orders...
