Charles Taylor's war crimes lawyer storms out as court rejects summing-up

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12 April 2012

Charles Taylor's lawyer stormed out of court today after judges refused to accept a written summary of the former Liberian president's defence case at the end of his war crimes trial.

British lawyer Courtenay Griffiths ignored judges at the special tribunal for Sierra Leone who ordered him to stay in court after angry exchanges erupted before closing arguments in the three-year case.

"How will posterity judge the credibility of this court if, at this 11th hour, they prevented Mr Taylor from presenting 90 per cent of his closing arguments?" Mr Griffiths said outside court in The Hague. He said he refused to "lend legitimacy to proceedings" by staying.

But prosecutor Brenda Hollis said Mr Taylor and his lawyers had no right to walk out. "The accused is not attending a social event. He may not RSVP at the last minute," she said. "He is the accused at a criminal proceeding."

Mr Taylor remained in court as Ms Hollis began summing up the prosecution case. Yesterday the three-judge panel issued a majority decision rejecting Mr Taylor's final brief in which his lawyers summed up their defence case, because it was filed 20 days after their January 14 deadline.

But Ugandan judge Julia Sebutinde dissented, warning that refusing to accept Mr Taylor's brief, "is to deny him his fundamental right to defend himself".

Mr Taylor, the first former African head of state to be tried by an international court, has denied 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, torture and using child soldiers.

Prosecutors allege he armed and supported rebels responsible for many of the worst atrocities of Sierra Leone's civil war, which left tens of thousands dead and many more mutilated after enemy soldiers hacked off their limbs, noses or lips. Mr Taylor claims he was a statesman trying to pacify western Africa.

Last year supermodel Naomi Campbell and actress Mia Farrow were summoned to give evidence. The prosecution was trying to establish a link between Mr Taylor and some uncut diamonds that Miss Campbell said she had been given in South Africa in 1997.

The judges will retire this week to consider their judgment, expected later this year. If convicted, Mr Taylor would serve a prison sentence in Britain.

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