Charles Taylor of Liberia boycotts war crimes trial
<noinclude>
{{date|June 4, 2007}}
{{Liberia}}
Former [[Liberia]]n president [[Charles Taylor]], who is facing charges of [[war crimes]] for his role in the [[Sierra Leone Civil War]], has decided to boycott the proceedings at [[The Hague]] under the auspices of the [[Special Court for Sierra Leone]]. He faces 11 charges of war crimes, all of which he denies.

Taylor claims that his trial will not be fair as he only has one defense lawyer. "He has not thumbed his nose at the court," said Karim Khan, his counsel, before producing the letter in which Taylor said he would "not receive a fair trial at the Special Court at this time."

Chief Prosecutor Stephen Rapp disagrees with Taylor's assessment. Taylor, he says, has been assigned a lawyer, a special investigator and funds. "Everything that can be done is being done," Rapp told the Special Court.

==Related news==
*{{wikinews|title=Nigeria arrests Charles Taylor for war crimes trial|date=March 30, 2006}}
*{{wikinews|title=Nigeria bill has Taylor implications|date=September 1, 2005}}

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6717485.stm
|title=Ex-Liberia leader boycotts trial
|author=
|pub=BBC News Online
|date=June 4, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/06/03/taylor.trial.ap/index.html
|author=AP
|title=Taylor boycotts war crimes trial
|pub=CNN
|date=June 4, 2007}}

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[[Category:Crime and law]]
[[Category:Human rights]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:War crimes]]
[[Category:Africa]]
[[Category:Liberia]]
[[Category:Sierra Leone]]
[[Category:Charles Taylor]]
[[Category:The Hague]]
[[Category:Sierra Leone Civil War]]
[[Category:Special Court for Sierra Leone]]
[[Category:Right to a fair trial]]

[[de:Prozess gegen Charles Taylor beginnt in Den Haag]]
[[fr:Sierra Leone : Charles Taylor refuse de comparaître à la première audience de son procès à La Haye]]

</noinclude>
Former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who is facing charges of war crimes for his role in the Sierra Leone Civil War, has decided to boycott the proceedings at The Hague under the auspices of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He faces 11 charges of war crimes, all of which he denies.

Taylor claims that his trial will not be fair as he only has one defense lawyer. "He has not thumbed his nose at the court," said Karim Khan, his counsel, before producing the letter in which Taylor said he would "not receive a fair trial at the Special Court at this time."

Chief Prosecutor Stephen Rapp disagrees with Taylor's assessment. Taylor, he says, has been assigned a lawyer, a special investigator and funds. "Everything that can be done is being done," Rapp told the Special Court.

de:Prozess gegen Charles Taylor beginnt in Den Haag
fr:Sierra Leone : Charles Taylor refuse de comparaître à la première audience de son procès à La Haye
Crime and law Human rights Politics and conflicts War crimes Africa Liberia Sierra Leone Charles Taylor The Hague Sierra Leone Civil War Special Court for Sierra Leone Right to a fair trial