Court to decide on new Taylor trial delay
Legal World
The Hague - Judges presiding over the war crimes trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor are expected to decide on Monday when the case will resume after his new defence team asked for a delay.
The trial chamber of the Sierra Leone tribunal, moved to The Hague for Taylor's trial, will hold a procedural hearing Monday to discuss the request of Taylor's new lawyers to postpone the trial until January 7, 2008. The prosecution has supported the move but said in a separate motion that the length of the adjournment should be decided by the judges.
Taylor, 59, the first African head of state to stand trial before an international court for war crimes, sacked his first lawyer on the grounds that he had no chance of receiving a fair hearing.
His trial officially opened on June 4 but the case got bogged down by the legal wrangling about Taylor's defence and was delayed several times.
Finally a new defence team was installed mid-July but lead counsel Courtenay Griffiths has argued he need more time to prepare. The defence already has about 40 000 pages of witness statements and documents to read through with many more expected to come as the case moves forward.
Once one of Africa's most feared warlords, Taylor has pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape and using child soldiers during the brutal 1991-2001 civil war in Sierra Leone.
Around 120 000 people were killed in the Sierra Leone conflict, with rebels mutilating thousands more, cutting off arms, legs, ears or noses.
Taylor is accused of arming, training and controlling Sierra Leone's notorious Revolutionary United Front (RUF), responsible for many of the mutilations, in exchange for still-unknown amounts of diamonds used to fund war.
Related listings
-
Mattel: 9M more Chinese-made toys recalled
Legal World 08/15/2007[##_1L|1389266596.jpg|width="220" height="165" alt=""|_##]Mattel Inc. Tuesday recalled more than 9 million toys made in China and sold in the United States, including "Polly Pocket" and "Batman" dolls and other popular figures, because of loose magne...
-
Mattel Recalls 9 Million Toys Made in China
Legal World 08/14/2007Mattel Inc. recalled millions of its Chinese-made toys across Europe on Tuesday, including Barbie and Batman, due to safety concerns.Millions of toys have also been recalled in the United States due to hazards from small, powerful magnets and lead pa...
-
Bush and Karzai hold "strategy session" in US
Legal World 08/06/2007[##_1L|1086954898.jpg|width="100" height="106" alt=""|_##]Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai has arrived in Camp David for what has been billed by experts as a "strategy session" with US president George W. Bush. On the agenda: the struggling, six-...
New York Commercial Litigation Law Firm - Woods Lonergan PLLC
Founded in 1993 by Managing Partner James F. Woods, Woods Lonergan PLLC has built a strong reputation as a resourceful and industrious firm that provides clients with clear, concise, and straightforward answers to their most challenging legal issues. Partner Lawrence R. Lonergan, who joined the firm in 2008, has been a friend and colleague to Mr. Woods for over 40 years and shares the same business philosophy. Woods Lonergan PLLC’s collective experience and expertise enables the firm to expeditiously and effectively analyze the increasing challenges clients face in an evolving business and legal world, in many instances, avoiding unnecessary time and expense to our clients. Our mission is simple: provide cutting-edge expertise and sound advice in select areas of the law for corporate and business clients. We thrive on providing each client with personalized attention, forceful representation, and a collaborative team effort that embraces collective knowledge.