Special Court for Sierra Leone, Taylor Trial, Update 115

Taylor Trial

Special Court for Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

English

The Taylor trial began to wind down during this reporting period, with the testimony of two Defense witnesses and three additional witnesses for the Prosecution. Issa Sesay concluded his testimony and the Defense called DCT-008, a Liberian radio operator for Taylor’s Special Security Services (SSS) unit. The Prosecution also called three witnesses in August, re-opening its case approximately a year and a half after formally resting in February 2009.

The Court dealt with a number of important legal issues including, inter alia, the exclusion of custodial statements given by Defense witness Issa Sesay; the introduction of documentary evidence; the Prosecution’s disclosure of information about Defense witness DCT-097; a Defense motion to exclude or limit evidence falling outside the scope of the indictment; and a motion requesting an investigation into contempt of court for the Prosecution.