The war crimes trial of the former president of Liberia Charles Taylor could start in The Hague in January next year, a court official in the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown said on Wednesday.
”At the moment we anticipate the beginning of the trial to be January 2007,” Harpinder Athwal, a special assistant to the court’s prosecutor, told a news conference.
Athwal said the prosecution had handed over 32 000 pages of evidence to Taylor’s defence team.
”This is the evidence we have on him. We still have more evidence coming in,” said Athwal.
”Now the defence would have to start going through them to determine what their perspective is on it and work with us to settle a date to begin the trial,” she said.
Taylor, once one of Africa’s most feared warlords, was flown to The Netherlands on Tuesday from Sierra Leone where he had been detained since his capture in late March.
Defence lawyer Karim Khan has meantime complained that the transfer of his client without notice had disrupted defence preparations.
”One of the repercussions of the movement of Charles Taylor to The Hague is that we are not able to finalise the composition of our team,” Khan said at the war crimes tribunal in Freetown.
Khan complained to the court presided over by Sri Lankan-born judge Richard Lussick: ”I was not able to speak to my client as he was whisked off without any notice to me.”
The British-based lawyer also made an application for Taylor ”to receive and make calls in the same way he was previously allowed to while in Freetown to ensure the proper administration of justice”.
Prosecutor Brenda Hollis said there was ”no objection for Mr Taylor to have access to communications with his lawyers” and that the court would ensure a fair trial for the man accused of being behind the one of the most brutal civil wars in recent history.
Khan also urged the court to ensure ”all necessary steps to facilitate the travels of Mr Taylor’s family to the Hague with regards to visas”.
Meanwhile, the United States on Wednesday welcomed the transfer of Taylor to The Hague.
”This action is an important step forward for justice and accountability and will contribute to stability in West Africa after decades of civil conflict,” deputy State Department spokesperson Adam Ereli said. – Sapa-AFP