Charles Taylor on Trial

(8 Jan 08 - RV) Judges in the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor allowed into evidence today video of victims telling of being sexually assaulted or dismembered by rebels who plundered West African diamond fields. The first witness in the trial was a diamond expert who said Sierra Leone rebels backed by Taylor used slave labour to dig up diamonds worth between millions of dollar a year, and terrorized the population to assert their control of the fields.
Rori Anderson is a Policy director for World Vision. She said proceeds of diamonds were used to buy arms and ammunition for rebels who perpetrated human rights abuses, including using child soldiers…