Trial / Charles Taylor

by Alpha Sesay

Upon Request By Defense Lawyers, Judges Will Convene Status Conference

The Special Court for Sierra Leone  judges in The Hague have ordered that a Status Conference be convened on Thursday, January 20, 2011 after a request was made by defense lawyers for former Liberian president Charles Taylor.

On Tuesday, January 18, 2011, Mr. Taylor’s defense lawyers filed a “Defense Request for a Status Conference” in order “to review the status of the case.”

“The Defense notes the outstanding matters which it submits are crucial to conclusively and properly litigating its case through the final brief,” the defense application stated.

The “outstanding matters” relate to a notice of appeal and several motions that have been filed by defense lawyers including an effort to appeal a Trial Chamber decision on the “Defense Motion Requesting an Investigation into Contempt of Court by the Office of the Prosecutor and Its Investigators,” a “Defense Motion to Recall Four Prosecution Witnesses and to Hear Evidence From the Chief of WVS [Witness and Victims Services] Regarding Relocation of Prosecution Witnesses,” and “Defense Motion for Disclosure and/or Investigation of United States Government Sources Within the Trial Chamber, The Prosecution and the Registry, Based on Leaked USG Cables.”

Prior, a scheduling order issued by the judges required both prosecution and defense to file their final trial briefs by January 14, 2011 in anticipation of hearing closing arguments from February 8 to 11, 2011. While prosecutors filed their final brief by the deadline, defense lawyers on their part failed to do so.

“The Defense acknowledges that it has yet to file a final brief. The Defense emphasises this decision was not made in deliberate disdain of the Court or its orders, and it was not intended to demonstrate any disrespect for the Court’s authority. Instead, the Defense was guided by its professional duty to its client,” defense lawyers wrote in their application.

Defense lawyers also stated that they had refused to accept service of the prosecution’s final brief until such a time when they would have filed their own final brief.

On same Tuesday, January 18, Trial Chamber judges issued a decision in which they granted the defense request to convene a Status Conference.

In the decision, the judges stated that they were granting the defense request, “[c]onsidering that it is in the interest of justice to give the Defense an opportunity to explain why it failed to file its final trial brief on 14 January 2011, as ordered, and why it has refused to accept service of the Prosecution final trial brief.”

The Status Conference is scheduled to take place at 2:00PM in The Hague, on Thursday, January 20.

42 Comments

  1. To Mr. Griffith and the entire defense team:

    You are doing an outstanding job by going above and beyond your call of duties in making sure President Taylor is fully represented by a sound legal team. I want to thank you personally. However, I am suggesting that the following measures be taken to ensure that the good news of true justice be heard all over the world.

    Suggestion 1: have an interview with at least one of the “Big Three Cable News Outlets (CNN, MSNBC, FOX) in America to inform the America people about the American Ambassador to Liberia, Linda Thomas Greenfield behavior and the entire government approach (wikileak) in dealing with this Fake Case in the Hague.

    Suggestion 2: Put both the Liberian and Sierra Leonean Governments on notice for the lack of interest in this case subliminally, even though, they have their desired outcome on this case which is not based on true justice and rule of law. How can they say they are seeking justice for their citizens but yet hide development in the trial.

    Suggestion 3: Since Naomi Campbell is a British Citizen, have an interview with at least 3 news outlets there stressing the big hold she put in the prosecution case; and other punchlines like joint criminal enterprise argument, criminal liability responsibility, command and control structure, prosecution witnesses contradiction of each other and etc .

    Again, thank you for the job well done so far.

    1. Big B,
      It is indeed the case that on Jan. 12, the Judges turned down a Defense application for a status conference and for a stay of proceedings until certain outstanding matters are resolved. The defense, in their motion, also asked for an extension of the deadline for the filing of the final trial briefs. This also was rejected by the judges.

      After Defense lawyers failed to file their final brief on the required deadline of Jan. 14, and also after refusing to accept service of the Prosecution’s final brief, they made another application for a status conference. This time round, on Jan.18, the judges granted the defense request for a status conference. The judges, however, in their latest decision, made very clear that they will convene a status conference on Jan. 20 to give the defense the chance to respond to two things:
      1. Why they had failed to file their final trial brief on the required deadline of Jan. 14, and
      2. To explain why they refused to accept service of the Prosecution’s final brief.

      Hope this helps clarify the issues.
      Alpha

    2. Big B,
      One of those two judges is the LINK between the bench and the US gov’t…and if I was to put my life on the line, I will pick Judge Lussick. If this was any other court in the Western World….this case will be on the way out.

      1. Noko4,

        Many people thought that I was nuts when I commented in October 2010 before the wikileaks that justice Lussick and Doherty will find President Taylor guilty, while justice Sabutinde will find him not guilty. I hope I am wrong and those honorable judges will do the right thing. If the evidence is not there they MUST acquitted.

        As to whom within the Court system that leaked the false information to the USG about justice Sabutinde, is hard to say. However, If I should speculate as to who leaked the false information, I believe it probably came from the Chief of WVS or the Registrar.

        But what is not clear to me maybe Alpha can help with his insight. What was the reason did Justice Doherty and Lussick signed the motion of refusal of 12 January precluding Justice Sabutinde as the presiding judge?

        1. Maybe Judge Sabutinde has seen the WRITTING on the wall about this case and is troubling. This case is turning into a RACIAL case…..

  3. Jose
    Good thinking but you forgot to add:
    1. The prosecution tempering with witnesses statements after the court has close down behind the back of the judges. There is a quote from Judge Sebetundi that describes such behavior as criminal.
    2. The illegal behavior by the prosecution to bribe witnesses and provide living and medical expenses for witnesses.
    3. The parading of a cannibal like Zig Zag Marzah, who is reported to now be fighting in the Ivory Coast, as a credible prosecution witness.

    1. Momo Dahn,

      Thanks for the complement. By the way, your addition to the suggested list makes a whole lot of sense than anyone can possibly imagined. Folks, this thing is massively terrifying for the prosecution especially, when an unknown person went and intentionally changed the testimonies of witnesses in the name of “ERRATA” behind closed doors and at night, without the knowledge and consent of the honorable judges. Thank God one of the Judges said it was an “illegal and criminal act.” What kind of court is this? Folks, this case is imploding right before its sponsors’s eyes, like the U.S. G.B. and etc.

      FAKE CASE.

    1. Aki,

      Thanks for providing the link in which Mr. Griffiths was on live. The problem with most of the callers, especially those from Sierra Leone, already found this innocent man guilty before the trial even begun. This is sad. Can you imagine one of the callers from Sierra Leone reechoed that pernicious myth and legendary lie of Taylor said “Sierra Leone will taste the bitterness of war”? A lie that has already been disproved and debunked in this court. I was fuming when I heard that caller totting that line. Where is the BBC tape recording that Taylor said what the caller said. Why didn’t the prosecution bring such a recording in court? All bunch of lies. Prove your fake case and stop your talking point.

  6. Jose and Momo,
    Guys! a question just came to my mind. Knowing that canibalism is one of the worse crimes against mankind, why is it that Ziza Maza came up boldly admitting to such and up til now, no one has called him to answere questions or even gotten him arrested? Can Alpha, Sekou or anyone who has an answere help..

    1. Cousin 5,
      Because he testified against Mr. Taylor and the prosecutors wanted to make sure he tell the world that LIE!!!

    3. Why would NOKO5 ask such question about ZiZag Marza cannibalistic testimony and why he is not being arrested up to present? You taylor group denied any such ever happening simply because your Daddy was implicated, and all of a sudden you want Zigzac convicted, even though you claim Daddy’s innocence! What a double standard! Does this mean taylor participated?

      1. Fallah,

        Stop misrepresenting the facts here. I don’t remember anyone who stands for true justice on this site saying that cannibalism was not carryout in Liberia; if anything, prove the contrary. Zigzag Marzah is a self confessed cannibal who was paid to lie on this innocent man. He also said people eat human beings in the Liberian Traditional Society which is a lie. Taylor said” it sounds disgusting.” Besides, how can you consider a crazy man like Zigzag Marsah statement to be credible? As we speak, He is in Ivory coast right now recruiting and on standby ready to fight in the conflict. Who sent him there?

  7. Thank you cousin4,
    I wish there was another planet to move to…Hope Chinas emergance as another supper power will make some positive impact in the future..

    1. 11-23-2011
      @ Noko5
      Sorry, China will not emerge as a super power in our life time. Forget it! We would be better served praying to God that Africa assumes it rightful place as a super power.

  8. make no mistakes, folksk; this is not a case for justice. If it was not all politically motivated, it should by now have no leg to stand in the house of justice. I felt bad for nigerians in cote of ivory during the late 90s for selling emselves to make a living. No need to feel bad because their govt sold taylor, and are part of the international-criminal-corupt triagle in this polical conspiracy against an african man. Shame nigerians govt is selling cote d’ivoire to their western patrons too, and will do lot more damage to african integrity in time soon to come. Ecowas, AU, UN should be allowed no more the respect they don’t deserve for their crimes of setting up coruptions regimes on bloody rivers and dry valleys for western economic interests. Toxic wastes and guns for resources, is there a leader in africa? UN for west!

  9. Folks,

    African armies are ready to act in using force to get rid of one of Ivory Coast newly elected presidents, Mr. Laurent Gbagbo. The question is, how many of Ellen 2000 soldiers will she contribute to this fatal mistake? Ellen be careful what you wish for. You don’t even trust your own soldiers to give them guns in Liberia. Why will you venture to wage war on your neighbor? Ellen soldiers need to protect Ellen and the country.

    1. Maybe Ellen should give taylor boys to Gbagbo because they seem like soldiers of fortune, don’t they,Jose Rodriguez? You guys have tried to drag Ellen into everything even though she had continued to ignore all your rubbish and accusations, and not to mention your indirect insults to her Government! What Jose and others need to do is probably leave Ellen alone..and do themselves some positive thinking!

    2. Jose,
      She has denounced military interventions in the Ivory Coast. She’s claiming it woul be counter productive. This was in the “front page” news paper yesterday. Sorry, I don’t know what’s going on with that link today, orelse, I would have pasted it over here. But however, I think this statement made by her is actually geared towards her weakness as a president. Especially the one with no teeth. I MEAN A “FEEBLE PUPPET”. LOL..She would probably have to send the mercenaries that are guiding her..

  10. He has the most expensive defence in international criminal law. Compare it to all others at SCSL and the other tribunals. It doesnt matter…the evidence is overwhelming and as the old saying goes, Facts win trials. These conspiratorial rantings only further how afraid his supporters are to face the truth. And give me a break on the politics. Of course west has terible history in region, But that was when they ignored the abuses committed against the people. Now there was a tribunal and you want to scream the other way – they should have ignored it. You cant have it both ways. Defending Taylor, Gbagbo or others like them is NOT the same as defending Africa. It is actually the opposite and indeed shameful.

  11. Folks,

    Below is a link to a very troubling story coming out of Liberia alleging that the Unity Party of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is attempting to bribe certain candidates to get out of the race.

    While i dont support either the opposition or the current government, this is clearly very dangerous for our nascent democracy. Even more troubling is the silence from the so called international community, human rights organizations etc.

    http://allafrica.com/stories/201101200481.html

  12. Bundu,

    The evidence is so overwhelming that one of the sponsors of this fake case said the evidence is “not” strong enough against this innocent man. Therefore, they must ensure that he does not go back home to Liberia. Consequently, he should face trial in the U.S. Do you know who said that? It was the American Ambassador to Liberia, Linda Thomas Greenfield. Do you know who lobbied for the court to just get about 5 million dollars from the U.S. government? It was this same ambassador. So this is Bundu versus Ambassador Greenfield. I get no fish to fry in it.

    Wikileak exposed and revealed things that we already know about this fake case.

    Concerning Ivory Coast President, Laurent Gbagbo, he is a victim of his own trap and concession at his own peril. When the very people who are telling him to leave power today was on his side, he never invoke Ivory Coast sovereignty. In fact, they had up to 10,000.00 U.N. troops in Ivory Coast working with him. He never had any problem with them at the time. Now the script has flipped and the powers of this world had found a brand new puppet that can probably do a better puppetry job than him; out of sudden, he has a problem with them and invoking sovereignty, patriotism, nationalism, and etc. My thing here is, let’s respect the laws of Ivory Coast. Let Outarra go to court. As the matter of facts, the Constitutional Council which is charged with the responsibility of certification and settling election dispute has already decided on this matter by declaring President Laurent Gbagbo the duly elected president of Ivory Coast. Why people don’t want to respect the rule of law? Why are they always resulting to violence? I remember during the presidential election in America in 2000, the state of Florida was first declared for Vice President Albert Gore Jr. Later, it was put in too close to call column, than switched to Governor Bush. They settled the election dispute in court in a 5-4 decision in favor of Governor Bush. Even though, you had more conservatives on the bench including the Chief Justice at the time William H. Rehnquist a September 26, 1986 President Reagan appointee casting the deciding vote in Bush v Gore in favor of Governor Bush. Let’s respect the laws. Let Africans don’t always feel inferior. Let them go to court.

    1. Jose Rodriguez,
      A VERY GOOD POINT INDEED, WHY DO THESE SO-CALL CILVILZISE DEMOCRATIC AFRICAN LEADERS ARE SO QUICK TO WANT TO USE KILLING AND MAYHEM TO SETTLE DISPUTES. Outarra, calling for Gbagbo to be remove from power military show what kind of president he is going to be. If Outarra become president by the barrel of a gun he will rule by the barrel of a gun to stay president and in time he to will be remove by the barrel of a gun.

      1. Ken,
        African Leaders don’t know what R&D is. They never learn from their failures…..They are only a bunch of football that should always be kicked by the players… AH! AFRICA..Why our leaders hurt us so much..

  13. Today, we witnessed the summit of mockery of international justice. What moral or legal standing does Brenda Hollis and those two other judges insist that the defense had already close their case and therefore should have submitted their final closing arguments.

    Did the prosecution not closed their case before they reopened and brought new witnesses and evidence? So why can the prosecution have the benefit of reopening their case but the defense cannot reopen? Why was the prosecution allowed to bring in new witnesses like Naomi Campbell and others and the defense cannot have the benefit of bringing in fresh evidence like the wikileaks?

  14. Momo,
    Those fools were playing the “Race card” yesterday. Richard Lusick and his girl friend Dorithy have received their checks, so its about time to wear the mask of injustice. But I enjoy Sebutinde when she looked in their slushy faces and told them what she stands for. WISH HER GODS GREATEST BLESSINGS..

  15. The brute force of jungle justice was on full display in this court. The latest behavior by the court is purely judical Darwinism we are watching, it is no more about what is right but about who has might. And Ms Brenda Hollis had the termity to scream that Mr. Taylor is sitting in the middle of of the court? Hypocrisy!

    The final unvieling of injustice was rendered when the two other justices agreed with the prosecution that the defense must submit its final argument in the face of unresolved substantive legal matters. Imagine that kind of legal logjam that those justices intend to put the defense into. But the ever courageous Courtney Griffiths responded, that if the court insist on this course of prejudice then, he will have to review his status as to whether he can adequately represent Mr. Taylor under such could of huge political justice. What a courageous statement from Griffiths , yet again demonstrating his pure passion to see nothing but due process of law unshackle.

    But no, the ever political justice Lussick, it would now appears , from the wikileaks demonization of Justice Sebutundi; that Lussick and Doherty are the favorites of the powerful countries sponsoring this scam of a court. Justice Lussick lamented that QC Courtney Griffiths was threatening the court by Griffiths assertion that he would review his status as to whether he (Griffiths) could continue to represent the interest of Mr. Taylor, considering the persistent prejudice against the defense.

    Brenda Hollis, who on many many occassions during this trial had requested and granted extension due to either unprepareness and pure incompetence, was speaking about delaying the court by the defense, as if to suggest that it was not the prosecution who has actually caused the extension of the court’s schedule. Was it not Brenda Hollis who delay this trial by insisting and was granted the previledge to reopened the prosecution case?

    The prosecution and the two paid agents, disguised as fair justices, (Judge Lussick and Judge Doherty) are behaving like judical jesters, making this case against President Charles Ghangay Taylor to be nothing but TOTAL TOTAL NONSENSE!

    1. I knew Judge Luissick was bend on seeing Mr. Taylor in jail…..he started that off when the case was been held in SL. But to also witnessed Judge Doherty performing like a chicken without head….AMAZING.

      This case is OVER……nothing will change the verdict.

  16. Guys oh guys!!
    One thing I know is that, they do not want to deal with the wikileaks exposures. But Charles Ghankay Taylor that I know, will make them address it someway some how. Watch the show guys, see what happens either on or before the final arguments. Those white fools will know that knowlege and civilization started with the black man. THEY WILL SEE THE POWER OF THE ALMIGHTY LORD..(YAWEH)..

  17. Fallah Menjor,
    Thats who you are; Education without wisdom is also a disease.. I am not surprise at this ignorant comment of yours. True justice in your defination is called CRUSIFY HIM. What will you get out of this false, and fake trial…If hes convicted trufully, it wouldn’t matter. Remember there are ten thousand GHANKAY still alive….

  19. Jose

    I now see why you write at random. It is simply because you don’t read and therefore, you go on blaming and making unnecessary comparasion of the past such as Adolf Hitler of Germany, Napoleon of France and so many to Charles Taylor forgetting to realize the advancement in Technology. Every now and then you are holding the US and Great Britain responsible for your so called God-father (Charles Taylor) inhuman attitude towards his own brothers and sisters. Please be informed that I don’t just sit down and write. This year’s 2011 Nobel Peace Price Winner has not been announced. Ellen-Johnson Sheriff of Liberia is been selected by the Norwegian Parliamentarians as possible Winner. Even though, you condemn her on a
    daily basis but, we believe that she will be the winner because she is the First elected Woman President in Africa. Please read the February 10 issue of the New Democrat Paper from Liberia.

  20. On February 21, 2011 at 10:27 pm, JTF said: Jose

    I now see why you write at random. It is simply because you don’t read and therefore, you go on blaming and making unnecessary comparasion of the past such as Adolf Hitler of Germany, Napoleon of France and so many to Charles Taylor. Every now and then you are holding the U. S. and the U. K. responsible for your so called God-father Charles Taylor’s trial that is going on in the Hague as if they are the one carrying on the trial. You don’t even realize that the same court was held in Sierra Leone’s Capital City. Ellen-Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia is been selected by the Norwegian Parliamentarians as possible Nobel Peace Price Winner yet, you go on condemning her on a daily basis. This previlege was never extended to your beloved president Charles Taylor. We believe that she will be the winner because she is the First elected Woman President in Africa. Please read the February 10 issue of the New Democrat Paper from Liberia.

  21. I now see why you write at random. It is simply because you don’t read and therefore, you go on blaming and making unnecessary comparasion of the past such as Adolf Hitler of Germany, Napoleon of France and so many to Charles Taylor. Every now and then you are holding the U. S. and the U. K. responsible for your so called God-father Charles Taylor’s trial that is going on in the Hague as if they are the one carrying on the trial. You don’t even realize that the same court was held in Sierra Leone’s Capital City where most of the RUF former Leaders were jailed for their leading roles in the conflit. Please read the New Democrat Paper from Liberia, the February 10 issue and see what has been proposed for Ellen-Johnson Sirleaf as a good leader in West Africa.

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