Welcome back to the live-blog of the trial of Charles Taylor before the Special Court for Sierra Leone.  The trial is now entering its second week of witness testimony, and this morning we expect lead defense counsel Courtenay Griffiths to continue his cross-examination of prosecution witness Varmuyan Sherif.  Once the cross-examination is finished, the prosecution will have an opportunity to question Sherif again on points brought up during the cross-examination. 

As always, the running summary of court proceedings on this website should not be considered a transcript.  We cannot guarantee its accuracy, although we try hard to be as accurate as possible.

Court was scheduled to resume at 9:00 this morning, but upon convening at that time, the defense team was not in the courtroom (although the accused, Charles Taylor was present and could be seen reading through documents).  Special Court Registry officials reported to the judges that the defense team had forgotten to bring the key to their office, was locked out, and thus unable to get their robes and files.  While security officers from the International Criminal Court, whose facilities the Special Court is using, work to open the door to the defense office, Presiding Judge Julia Sebutinde has adjourned proceedings until the defense team is ready.  The session is expected to resume shortly after 9:15.  With the half-hour delay in the video and audio feed to the media center, our coverage will begin at around 9:45 (8:45 in Sierra Leone and Liberia).