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: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Liberia ex-president Taylor seeks acquittal in war crimes case

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

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[JURIST] Defense lawyers for former Liberian president Charles Taylor on Monday filed a Rule 98 motion for acquittal following the close of the prosecution's case at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). The defense admits that atrocities were committed in Sierra Leone but maintains that the prosecution failed to provide evidence linking Taylor to any of them. The prosecution will have an opportunity to respond to the defense's motion Thursday, and a ruling could come within the next two weeks. Taylor is charged with 11 counts of crimes against humanity, violations of the Geneva Conventions, and other violations of international humanitarian law, to which he pleaded not guilty. In February, officials announced that they expected the court to render a verdict by 2010, despite the SCSL's ongoing financial troubles. After complaints of prejudice in 2007, the SCSL increased Taylor's defense funding to $100,000 a month. Taylor claims to be indigent but in June 2007, a five-member UN investigatory panel found that he retains control over millions of dollars hidden in African banks.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 06, 2009 (boomark / email).