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Taylor to make first court appearance Monday:Posted By: Janine Delacroix FREETOWN (AFP) - Liberia's warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor is due make his first court appearance Monday, the Special Court for Sierra Leone announced.The court said in a statement that Taylor was in good health and good spirits, His trial, which prosecutors say is months away, looks likely to take place in The Hague after the UN-backed court asked to move it there. It cited concerns that the hearing could ignite renewed unrest in the region where Taylor is believed to still command enormous backing. "The initial appearance of Charles Taylor before the Special Court for Sierra Leone will take place on Monday, 3 April at 3:00 pm (1500 gmt)," the court said in a statement received by AFP in Dakar. Monday's hearing will take place before Justice Richard Lussick, at the UN Special Court complex where the former strongman has been held in custody since Wednesday following his arrest in Nigeria. The court has indicted Taylor on 11 counts of crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law related to his role in fomenting a brutal civil war in Sierra Leone. The court's defence office, which ensures suspects's rights are fully respected in accordance with the requirements of the various instruments of the Court and under international human rights law, said Taylor had been cooperative. "Taylor is in fairly good health and is in good spirits," it said. "He cooperated with the lawyers who explained his rights ... and addressed personal matters as well as detention-related issues," said the court. A jail guard looking after Taylor said the ex-warlord "looked well. He is not talking to anyone, but he is well taken care of." The court said Taylor "is considering possibilities in respect of his legal representation." The Liberian Catholic-run Radio Veritas Friday said four top Liberian lawyers and four Ghanaian attorneys were headed to Freetown. "It is his right to be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing," the court said. "He also has the right to be assigned counsel if he is found to not have sufficient means to pay for it." The court in Freetown has indicted Taylor on 11 counts of crimes against humanity during Sierra Leone's brutal rebel war, including murder, sexual violence and unlawful use of child soldiers. The charges will be read to the 58-year-old former rebel chieftain and he will be asked to enter his plead. Taylor is considered the single most powerful figure behind a series of civil wars in Liberia and neighboring Sierra Leone between 1989 and 2003, which between them left around 400,000 people dead. Meantime, Taylor's former wife, Jewel Howard Taylor is demanding access to her estranged husband. Howard Taylor, who is under a UN sanctions travel ban, has also formally asked the UN to grant her permission to go to Freetown, according to Eric Kennedy, a senior official of Taylor's former ruling National Patriotic Party (NPP). "The (Taylor) family is sending three persons ...to Freetown, so that they can meet with him and see how he is coming on," Kennedy said. He said the three family members, including Taylor's cousin Sando Johnson and a cousin Parkie Kollie, were expecting to leave Monrovia Friday. Courtesy Of: Yahoo! News The information reported above is property of Yahoo! inc. and reprinted or modified with legitimate permission. We thank Yahoo! inc. for the kind cooperation with us and other shareholders. |
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