Charles Taylor (Liberia)

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Charles Taylor

In office
2 August 1997 – 11 August 2003
Vice President Enoch Dogolea (1997-2000)
Moses Blah (2000-2003)
Preceded by Samuel Doe
Succeeded by Moses Blah
Born 18 January 1948 (1948-01-18) (age 62)
Arthington, Liberia
Birth name Charles McArthur Taylor
Nationality Liberian
Political party National Patriotic
Spouse(s) Jewel Taylor (m. 1997, div. 2006)
Children Charles McArther Emmanuel
Alma mater Bentley University (B.A.)

Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor (born 28 January 1948) was the 22nd President of Liberia, serving from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003.[1]

Born in Arthington, Montserrado County, Taylor earned a degree at Bentley College in the United States before returning to Liberia to work in the government of Samuel Doe. After being removed for embezzlement, he eventually arrived in Libya, where he was trained as a guerilla fighter. He returned to Liberia in 1989 as the head of a Libyan-backed resistance group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, to overthrow the Doe regime, initiating the First Liberian Civil War. Following Doe's execution, he gained control of a large portion of the country and became one of the most prominent warlords in Africa.[2] Following a peace deal that ended the war, Taylor was elected president in the 1997 general election.

During his term of office, Taylor was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity as a result of his involvement in the Sierra Leone Civil War. Domestically, opposition to his regime grew, culminating in the outbreak of the Second Liberian Civil War in 1999. By 2003, he had lost control of much of the countryside and was formally indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. That year, he resigned as a result of growing international pressure and went into exile in Nigeria. In 2006, the newly elected President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf formally requested his extradition. Upon his arrival in Monrovia, he was transferred to the custody of the United Nations Mission in Liberia and immediately flown to Sierra Leone. He is currently being held in the United Nations Detention Unit on the premises of the Penitentiary Institution Haaglanden in The Hague, where he is on trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone for his role in the civil war.[3]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Charles McArthur Taylor was born in Arthington, a town near Monrovia, on 28 January 1948 to Nelson and Bernice Taylor. He took the name 'Ghankay' later on, possibly to please and gain favor with the indigenous people.[4] His mother was a member of the Gola ethnic group. According to most reports, his father was an Americo-Liberian, although other sources claim that he was actually Afro-Trinidadian. Taylor was a student at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts from 1972 to 1977, earning a degree in economics.

In 1979, he led a demonstration at the Liberian Mission to the United Nations in New York City, protesting then-president of Liberia William Tolbert, who was on a state visit to the U.S. at the time. Tolbert publicly debated Taylor, but when Taylor insinuated that he would seize the Liberian Mission by force, he was arrested by the New York Police Department. He was later released and invited back to Liberia by Tolbert.

Taylor supported the 12 April 1980 coup led by Samuel Kanyon Doe, which saw the murder of Tolbert and seizure of power by Doe. Taylor was appointed to a high position in Doe’s government in the General Services Agency of Liberia, a position that left him in charge of purchasing for the Liberian government. However, he was sacked in May 1983 for embezzling almost $1,000,000 and sending the funds to an American bank account.

Taylor fled to the United States but was arrested on 24 May 1984 by two US Deputy Marshals in Somerville, Massachusetts on a warrant for extradition to face charges of embezzling $922,000 of government funds intended for machinery parts. Citing a fear of assassination by Liberian agents, Taylor sought to fight extradition from the safety of jail with the help of his attorney, former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark. He was detained in a House of Corrections in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

On 15 September 1985, Taylor and four other inmates allegedly escaped from the Plymouth facility, a maximum security prison, by sawing through a bar covering a window in an unused laundry room. After dropping 12 feet to the ground by means of a knotted sheet, the five inmates climbed a fence. Shortly thereafter, Taylor and two other escapees were met at nearby Jordan Hospital by Taylor's wife, Enid, and Taylor's sister-in-law, Lucia Holmes Toweh. A getaway car was driven to Staten Island, where Taylor then disappeared. All four of Taylor's fellow escapees, as well as Enif and Toweh, were later apprehended. In 2008, Prince Johnson, a Liberian senator and former associate of Taylor, claimed before the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission on 27 August 2008 that the United States released Taylor from jail in 1985 to engineer the overthrow of the Doe regime. This charge was later repeated by Taylor himself during his testimony at his trial in The Hague. [5]

[edit] Civil war

Taylor managed to flee the United States and shortly thereafter it is assumed that he went to Libya, where he underwent guerrilla training under Muammar al-Gaddafi, becoming Gaddafi's protegé.[6] Eventually, he left Libya and traveled to Côte d'Ivoire, where he founded the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).

In December 1989, Taylor launched a Libyan-funded armed uprising from Côte d'Ivoire into Liberia to overthrow the Doe regime, leading to the First Liberian Civil War.[7] By 1990, his forces soon controlled most of the country. That same year, Prince Johnson, a senior commander of Taylor's NPFL, broke away and formed the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL). In September 1990, Johnson captured Monrovia, depriving Taylor of outright victory. Doe was captured and tortured to death by Johnson and his forces, resulting in a violent political fragmentation of the country. The civil war turned into an ethnic conflict, with seven factions fighting for control of Liberia's resources (especially iron ore, diamond, timber, and rubber).

According to a 2 June 1999, article in The Virginian-Pilot,[8] Taylor had extensive business dealings with American televangelist Pat Robertson during the civil war. According to the article, Taylor gave Robertson the rights to mine for diamonds in Liberia's mineral-rich countryside. According to two Operation Blessing pilots who reported this incident to the Commonwealth of Virginia for investigation in 1994, Robertson used his Operation Blessing planes to haul diamond-mining equipment to his new mines in Liberia, despite the fact that Robertson was telling his 700 Club viewers that the planes were sending relief supplies to the victims of the genocide in Rwanda. The subsequent investigation by the Commonwealth of Virginia concluded that Robertson diverted his ministry's donations to the Liberian diamond-mining operation, but Attorney General of Virginia Mark Earley blocked any potential prosecution against Robertson, as the relief supplies were also sent.[9]

[edit] Presidency

After the official end of the civil war in 1996, Taylor ran for president in the 1997 general election. He famously campaigned on the slogan "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him."[10] The elections were overseen by the United Nation's peacekeeping mission, UNOMIL, along with a contingent from ECOWAS.[11] Taylor won the election in a landslide, garnering 75 percent of the vote. Taylor's toughest competitor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, only collected 10 percent of the vote. Taylor's victory has been widely attributed to the belief that he would resume the war if he lost.

During his time in office, Taylor ran down the Armed Forces of Liberia, dismissing 2,400-2,600 former personnel, many of whom were ethnic Krahn brought in by former President Doe.[12] In its place, he installed the Anti-Terrorist Unit, the Special Operations Division of the Liberian National Police (LNP), which he used as his own private army.

Numerous allegations were leveled at Taylor during his presidency, particularly regarding his involvement in the Sierra Leone Civil War. He was accused of backing the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and assisting them through weapon sales in exchange for blood diamonds. Due to a UN embargo against arms sales to Liberia at the time, these weapons were largely purchased on the black market through arms smugglers such as Viktor Bout.[13] Furthermore, he was charged with aiding and abetting RUF atrocities against civilians that left many thousands dead or mutilated, with unknown numbers of people abducted and tortured. Moreover, he was accused of assisting the RUF in the recruitment of child soldiers. In addition to aiding the RUF in these acts, Taylor reportedly personally directed RUF operations in Sierra Leone.[14]

Taylor obtained spiritual and other advice from the evangelist Kilari Anand Paul.[15] As president, he was known for his flamboyant style and overtly quasi-religious hypocrisy. Upon being charged by the UN of being a gunrunner and diamond smuggler during his presidency, he publicly appeared in all white robes and begged God for forgiveness, while at the same time denying the charges. He was also reported to have said that “Jesus Christ was accused of being a murderer in his time.”

[edit] Rebellion and indictment

In 1999, a rebellion against Taylor began in northern Liberia, led by a group calling itself Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). This group was frequently accused of atrocities, and is thought to have been backed by the government of neighboring Guinea.[16] This uprising signaled the beginning of the Second Liberian Civil War.

By early 2003, LURD had gained control of northern Liberia. That year, a second Ivorian-backed rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), emerged in southern Liberia and achieved rapid successes.[17] By the summer, Taylor's government controlled only about a third of Liberia: Monrovia and the central part of the country.

On 7 March 2003, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) issued a sealed indictment for Taylor.[18] Previously that year, Liberian forces had killed Sam Bockarie, a leading member of the RUF in Sierra Leone, in a shootout under Taylor's orders. Some have claimed that Taylor ordered Bockarie killed in order to prevent Bockarie from testifying against him at the SCSL.[19]

In June 2003, the Prosecutor to the Special Court unsealed the indictment and announced publicly that Taylor was charged with war crimes. The indictment asserted that Taylor created and backed the RUF rebels in Sierra Leone, who were accused of a range of atrocities, including the use of child soldiers.[20] The Prosecutor also said that Taylor's administration had harbored members of Al-Qaeda sought in connection with the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.[21]

The indictment was unsealed during Taylor's official visit to Ghana, where he was participating in peace talks with MODEL and LURD officials. With the backing of the then-South African president Thabo Mbeki and against the urging of Sierra Leone president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Ghana declined to detain Taylor, who returned to Monrovia.

[edit] Resignation

During his absence for the peace talks in Ghana, it was alleged that the American government urged Vice President Moses Blah to seize power.[22] Upon his return, Taylor briefly dismissed Blah from his post, only to reinstate him a few days later.

In July 2003, LURD initiated a siege of Monrovia, and several bloody battles were fought as Taylor's forces halted rebel attempts to capture the city. The pressure on Taylor increased further as U.S. President George W. Bush stated that Taylor "must leave Liberia" twice that month. On 9 July, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo offered Taylor safe exile in his country, but only if Taylor stayed out of Liberian politics.[23]

Taylor insisted that he would resign only if American peacekeeping troops were deployed to Liberia. Bush publicly called upon Taylor to resign and leave the country in order for any American involvement to be considered. Meanwhile, several African states, in particular the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) under the leadership of Nigeria, sent troops under the banner of ECOMIL to Liberia.[24] Logistical support was provided by a California company called PAE Government Services Inc., which was given a $10 million contract by the US State Department.[24] On 6 August, a 32-member U.S. military assessment team were deployed as a liaison with the ECOWAS troops.[25]

On 10 August, Taylor appeared on national television to announce that he would resign the following day and hand power to Vice President Blah. He harshly criticized the United States in his farewell address, saying that the Bush administration's insistence that he leave the country would hurt Liberia.[1]

On 11 August, Taylor resigned, with Blah serving as president until a transitional government was established on 14 October. At the handover were Ghanaian President John Kufuor, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, all representing African regional councils. The U.S. brought Joint Task Force Liberia's Amphibious Ready Group of three warships with 2,300 Marines into view of the coast. Taylor flew to Nigeria, where the Nigerian government provided houses for him and his entourage in Calabar.

[edit] Exile

In November 2003, the United States Congress passed a bill that included a reward offer of two million dollars for Taylor's capture. While the peace agreement had guaranteed Taylor safe exile in Nigeria, it also required that he not attempt to influence Liberian politics, a requirement that his critics claimed he disregarded. On 4 December, Interpol issued a red notice regarding Taylor, suggesting that countries had a duty to arrest him. Taylor was placed on Interpol's Most Wanted list, declaring him wanted for crimes against humanity and breaches of the 1949 Geneva Convention, and noting that he should be considered dangerous. Nigeria stated it would not submit to Interpol's demands, agreeing only to deliver Taylor to Liberia in the event that the President of Liberia requested his return.

On 17 March 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the newly elected President of Liberia, submitted an official request to Nigeria for Taylor's extradition. This request was granted on 25 March, whereby Nigeria agreed to release Taylor to stand trial in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Nigeria agreed only to release Taylor and not to extradite him, as no extradition treaty existed between the two countries.

[edit] Disappearance and arrest

Three days after Nigeria announced its intent to hand him over to Liberia, Taylor disappeared from the seaside villa where he had been living in exile.[26] One week prior to his disappearance, Nigerian authorities had taken the unusual step of allowing local press to accompany census takers into Taylor’s seaside Calabar compound.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo was scheduled to meet with President Bush less than 48 hours after Taylor was reported missing. Speculation ensued that Bush would refuse to meet with Obasanjo if Taylor were not apprehended. Less than 12 hours prior to the scheduled meeting between the two heads of state, Taylor was reported apprehended and en route to Liberia.

On 29 March, Taylor tried to cross the border into Cameroon through the border town of Gamboru in northeastern Nigeria. His Range Rover with Nigerian diplomatic plates was stopped by border guards, and Taylor's identity was eventually established. State Department staff later reported that significant amounts of cash and heroin were found in the vehicle.

Upon his arrival at Roberts International Airport in Harbel, Liberia, Taylor was arrested and handcuffed by LNP officers, who then immediately transferred custody of Taylor to the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). Irish UNMIL soldiers then escorted Taylor aboard a UN helicopter to Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he was delivered to the SCSL.

On 7 August 2010 Chief Femi Fani-Kayode wrote an article titled "Charles Taylor: A Man Betrayed" in which, as an insider at the time, he highlighted the events and circumstances leading up to the release of Taylor from Nigeria. Fani-Kayode explained how Taylor was handed back to Liberia and how he was then sent to the International Criminal Court at the Hague in the Netherlands.[27] Fani-Kayode had been the spokesman of President Olusegun Obasanjo and of the Nigerian government at that time and in his article he stated that Taylor was 'betrayed' by a number of parties and nations. Fani-Kayode described as "treacherous and ignoble" the roles that US President George W. Bush and President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia played in the whole saga. He accused both the US and Liberia of reneging on their word and an earlier agreement on the Taylor issue and he alleged that they "betrayed the confidence" that the African Union, the ECOWAS Heads of Government, Nigeria and President Olusegun Obasanjo had placed in them. Finally he called for the trial of George W. Bush and Britain's former Prime Minister Tony Blair at the same International Criminal Court for what he described as "similar crimes against humanity" as the ones that Taylor was being accused of. The article was published the day after the appearance of super-model Naomi Campbell at the "blood diamonds" trial Taylor at the Hague.[28]

[edit] Trial

The SCSL prosecutor originally indicted Taylor on 3 March 2003 on a 17 count indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict in Sierra Leone. On 16 March 2006, a SCSL judge gave leave to amend the indictment against Taylor. Under the amended indictment, Taylor was charged with 11 counts. At Taylor's initial appearance before the court on 3 April 2006, he entered a plea of not guilty.[29]

In early June 2006, the decision on whether to hold Taylor's trial in Freetown or in The Hague had not yet been made by the new SCSL president, George Gelaga King. King's predecessor had pushed for the trial to be held abroad because of fear that a local trial would be politically destabilizing in an area where Taylor still had influence.[2] The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court dismissed a motion by Taylor's defense team, who argued that their client could not get a fair trial there and also wanted the Special Court to withdraw the request to move the trial to The Hague.[30][31]

On 15 June 2006, the British government agreed to jail Taylor in the United Kingdom in the event that he is convicted by the SCSL. This fulfilled a condition laid down by the Dutch government, who had stated they were willing to host the trial but would not jail him if convicted. British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett stated that new legislation would be required to accommodate this arrangement.[32] While awaiting his extradition to the Netherlands, Taylor was held in a UN jail in Freetown.[33]

On 16 June 2006, the United Nations Security Council agreed unanimously to allow Taylor to be sent to The Hague for trial; on 20 June 2006, Taylor was extradited and flown to Rotterdam Airport in the Netherlands. He was taken into custody and held in the detention centre of the International Criminal Court, located in the Scheveningen section of The Hague.[34] The Association for the Legal Defense of Charles G. Taylor was established in June 2006 to assist in his legal defense.

When Taylor's trial opened 4 June 2007, Taylor boycotted the proceeding and was not present. Through a letter which was read by his attorney to the court, he justified his absence by alleging that at that moment he was not ensured a fair and impartial trial.[35]

On 20 August 2007, Taylor's defense now led by Courtenay Griffiths obtained a postponement of the trial until 7 January 2008.[36] During the trial, the chief prosecutor alleged that a key insider witness who testified against Taylor went into hiding after being threatened for giving evidence against Taylor.[37] Furthermore, Joseph "Zigzag" Marzah, a former military commander, testified that Charles Taylor celebrated his new-found status during the civil war by ordering human sacrifice, including the killings of Taylor's opponents and allies that were perceived to have betrayed Taylor, and by having a pregnant woman buried alive in sand.[38] Marzah also accused Taylor of forcing cannibalism on his soldiers in order to terrorize their enemies.[39]

In January 2009, the prosecution finished presenting its evidence against Taylor and closed its case on 27 February 2009. On 4 May 2009, a defense motion for a judgment on acquittal was dismissed, and arguments for Taylor's defense began in July 2009.[40] Taylor testified in his own defense from July through November 2009. As of-early 2010, prosecutors' cross-examinations are ongoing.[41]

[edit] Health

According to Taylor spokesman Sando Johnson, Taylor has developed a heart condition during his war crimes trial in The Hague. Johnson described the heart problem as very serious and called for the speedy intervention of the Liberian government and the international community to avoid the potential death of Mr. Taylor. These claims have not been independently confirmed.

[edit] Family

In 1997, Taylor married Jewel Taylor, with whom he has one son. She filed for divorce in 2005, citing her husband's exile in Nigeria and the difficulty of visiting him due to a UN travel ban on her.[42] The divorce was granted in 2006. Jewel Taylor currently serves as the senior senator from Bong County.

Taylor has another son, a U.S. citizen named Charles McArther Emmanuel, born to his college girlfriend. Emmanuel was arrested in 2006 after entering the US and was charged with three counts, including participation in torture while serving in the Anti-Terrorist Unit in Liberia during his father's presidency.[43] In October 2008, Emmanuel was convicted on all three counts and sentenced to 97 years in prison.[44]

[edit] In popular culture

The character Andre Baptiste, Sr. from the movie Lord of War is partially based on Taylor.[45]

Taylor appears in the 2008 documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Quist-Arcton, Ofeibea (2003-08-11). "Liberia: Charles Ghankay Taylor, Defiant And Passionate To The End". allAfrica.com. http://allafrica.com/stories/200308111235.html. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 
  2. ^ a b "Justice at last?". The Economist. 2007-05-31. http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9262468. Retrieved 2007-08-05. 
  3. ^ "'Lies and Rumors': Liberia's Charles Taylor on the Stand". TIME. July 14, 2009. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1910365,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-14. 
  4. ^ Onadipe, Abiodun (November 1998). "Liberia: Taylor's first year report card. (President Charles Ghankay Taylor)". Contemporary Review (The Contemporary Review Company Limited). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-53450030.html. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 
  5. ^ US freed Taylor to overthrow Doe, Liberia's TRC hears
  6. ^ "How the mighty are falling". The Economist. 2007-07-05. http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9441341. Retrieved 2007-07-17. 
  7. ^ Grim legacy of Liberia's most isolated town BBC
  8. ^ Sizemore, Bill. "Robertson, Liberian Leader Hope to Strike Gold in Coastal Africa." The Virginian-Pilot. 2 June 1999. ( Copy found at [1].) Charles Taylor...
  9. ^ Blumenthal, Max (2005-09-07). "Pat Robertson's Katrina Cash". The Nation Online. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050919/blumenthal. Retrieved 2008-01-19. 
  10. ^ Left, Sarah (2003-08-04). "War in Liberia". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/westafrica/story/0,,1008084,00.html. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 
  11. ^ "UNOMIL". Information Technology Section/Department of Public Information. 2001. http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/co_mission/unomil.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 
  12. ^ Adebayo, Liberia's Civil War, International Peace Academy, 2002, p.235
  13. ^ "'Merchant of Death' who armed tyrants fights extradition to US". The Independent. 2008-12-23. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/merchant-of-death-who-armed-tyrants-fights-extradition-to-us-1208489.html. 
  14. ^ Merchant of death: money, guns, planes, and the man who makes war possible. Douglas Farah, Stephen Braun. p. 167
  15. ^ Finnegan, William (2003-09-01). "The Persuader". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/09/01/030901ta_talk_finnegan?printable=true. Retrieved 2008-01-19. 
  16. ^ "Back to the Brink". Human Rights Watch Report 14 (4(A)). 2002-05-01. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/liberia/. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 
  17. ^ "Liberia". Briefing to the 60th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights. January 2004. http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/01/29/liberi7246.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 
  18. ^ "The Prosecutor vs. Charles Ghankay Taylor" The Special Court for Sierra Leone. Retrieved 2010-03-26
  19. ^ "The Mysterious Death of a Fugitive". The Perspective (The Perspective (Atlanta, Georgia, USA)). 2003-05-07. http://www.theperspective.org/fugitivebockarie.html. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 
  20. ^ Crane, David M. (3 March 2003). "CASE NO. SCSL - 03 - I". The Special Court for Sierra Leone. Freetown, Sierra Leone: United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone. http://www.sc-sl.org/Documents/SCSC-03-01-I-001.html. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 
  21. ^ Susannah Price (2005-05-24). "UN pressed over Liberia's Taylor". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4577547.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-02. 
  22. ^ Paye-Layleh, Jonathan (2003-08-10). "Profile: Moses Blah". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3140063.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 
  23. ^ "Nigeria would shield Taylor from trial". cnn.com. 2003-07-10. http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/09/liberia/. Retrieved 2010-04-28. 
  24. ^ a b Barringer, Felicity (2003-07-24). "Nigeria Readies Peace Force for Liberia; Battles Go On". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5D6153FF937A15754C0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 
  25. ^ "Liberia's Taylor not ready to leave". cnn.com. 2003-07-07. http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/07/liberia/. Retrieved 2010-04-28. 
  26. ^ Polgreen, Lydia (2006-03-29). "Nigeria Says Ex-President of Liberia Has Disappeared". The New York Times. http://nytimes.com/2006/03/29/international/africa/29liberia.html. 
  27. ^ "Charles Taylor: A Man Betrayed", National Daily, 7 August 2010
  28. ^ "Charles Taylor: A Man Betrayed", Next, 9 August 2010
  29. ^ de Silva, Desmond, QC, Chief Prosecutor, Special Court for Sierra Leone (2006-03-29). "Chief Prosecutor Announces the Arrival of Charles Taylor at the Special Court" (PDF). Press Release from the Special Court for Sierra Leone. http://www.sc-sl.org/Press/prosecutor-032906.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-19. 
  30. ^ "Will Taylor Get a Fair Trial?". New African (Sierra Leone). February 2007. http://www.fortaylor.net/article17.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-19. 
  31. ^ "SIERRA LEONE: Decision on Taylor trial venue rests with head of Special Court". New African (Sierra Leone) (Irin News). 2008-01-19. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=59190. Retrieved 2008-01-19. 
  32. ^ "UK Agrees to Jail Charles Taylor". BBC News. 2006-06-15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5082664.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-19. 
  33. ^ "Charles Taylor jailed in Sierra Leone". CBC News. 2006-03-29. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/03/29/taylor-arrest.html. Retrieved 2008-01-19. 
  34. ^ Fofana, Lansana (2006-06-20). "Mixed Feelings over Charles Taylor's Transfer to The Hague". Global Policy Forum. http://globalpolicy.igc.org/intljustice/wanted/2006/0620mixedfeelings.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-19. 
  35. ^ Hudson, Alexandra (2007-06-04). "Taylor absent as trial gets underway". Reuters (IOL). http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=86&art_id=nw20070604110955292C367300. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
  36. ^ "Taylor trial delayed until 2008". BBC News. 2007-08-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6954627.stm. Retrieved 2007-08-20. 
  37. ^ "Witness in Taylor war crimes trial in hiding after threats". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/02/28/Taylor.warcrimes.ap/index.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  38. ^ "Shock testimony at Taylor trial. Al Jazeera.
  39. ^ "Top aide testifies Taylor ordered soldiers to eat victims." CNN.
  40. ^ Winter, Renate. "Foreword," Sixth Annual Report of the President of the Special Court for Sierra Leone: June 2008 to May 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  41. ^ Associated Press. Taylor: I Didn't Know Sierra Leone Rebel Pre-1991, 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  42. ^ "LIBERIA: Charles Taylor's wife has divorce petition granted". IRIN Africa. 2006-01-06. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=57741. Retrieved 2010-07-31 format=. 
  43. ^ "Ex-prisoner: Taylor's son laughed at torture." CNN. 30 September 2008.
  44. ^ Couwels, John. "Ex-Liberian president's son convicted of torture." CNN. 30 October 2008.
  45. ^ Burr, Ty (September 16, 2005). "Provocative 'War' Skillfully Takes Aim". The Boston Globe: D1. 

[edit] External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Ruth Perry		 President of Liberia
1997–2003		 Succeeded by
Moses Blah
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