01.03.12 - SCSL/TAYLOR - CHARLES TAYLOR WAR CRIMES VERDICT TO BE DELIVERED ON APRIL 26

1 March 2012 By

The Hague, March 1, 2012 (FH) - The Special Court for Sierra Leone will deliver its verdict in the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor on April 26.

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Charles Taylor is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between 1996 and 2002. He denies all the charges.

Taylor was indicted in June 2003 but the arrest warrant remained secret until he agreed to leave power in August 2003, after being granted political asylum by Nigeria. In March 2006, he was nevertheless arrested in Nigeria and transferred to the custody of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The Dutch government agreed to host the trial following a request from Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who feared instability in Liberia if Taylor were tried in Sierra Leone. His trial opened on June 2007 in The Hague and ended in March 2011. The Prosecution called 94 witnesses while 24 defence witnesses came to the bar, including the accused.

If he is found guilty, a date will be set for the hearing of the sentence. Charles Taylor would serve his sentence in the United Kingdom.

SM/ER/GF