Charles Taylor confronts first witness in int'l trial

THE HAGUE, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Former Liberian president Charles Taylor confronted the first witness called by the prosecution as his war crimes trial resumed Monday after six months of repeated delays.

Wearing a black suit, Taylor, who refused to show up in the courtroom on the first day of his trial last June, appeared at the defendant's seat this time.

Monday's trial started ten minutes late, which presiding judge Julia Sebutinde said was for security reasons.

"We begin to hear evidence today," Sebutinde said, declaring the court proceedings open.

Among the three witnesses who were expected to take the stand today against Taylor, the first one was Ian Smillie, an expert on the trade in so-called "blood diamonds" who tried to shed light on Taylor's plan to plunder Sierra Leone's resources.

As the cross examination is going on, Smillie will be followed by a victim witness, and then an insider witness whom the prosecution said is a former associate of Taylor. Both people's names were not disclosed for the sake of their safety.

Taylor, the first former African leader standing trial before an international tribunal, was charged with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his involvement in the 10-year civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone, which ended in 2002.

He allegedly supported the rebel Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone who committed murder, rape and mutilation of civilians, and arms trafficking and use of child soldiers, aiming to gain control of the country's mineral wealth, particularly its diamond mines.

Taylor is tried by the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, which rented a courtroom from the Hague-based International Criminal Court to conduct the trial for security concerns.

The governments of Liberia and Sierra Leone fear that his trial in Sierra Leone could spark violence in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.

Stephen Rapp, chief prosecutor of the court, said he has 144 witnesses, including 77 victims, 59 witnesses to link Taylor to the actual crimes and eight experts, lined up to testify in the trial. He hoped half of them could submit their testimony in writing.

The defense has been against the move to let victims give testimony, arguing the dispute was not on whether the atrocities occurred, but on whether Taylor was responsible.

Legal experts said the trial would be centered on whether Taylor ordered, supported or condoned alleged atrocities, rather than whether he committed those acts himself.

The former warlord, who was Liberia's president between 1997 and 2003, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. He could face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted.

The trial was opened last June, but was delayed several times in the past six months amid claim by Taylor of inadequate defense.

On the first day of his trial, the former warlord refused to show up in the courtroom and sacked his court-appointed lawyer Karim Khan, plunging the legal proceedings into chaos.

With a new defense team led by British barrister Courtenay Griffiths in place early August, the trial was later put on hold until Jan. 7, 2008 to give the newly composed defense team additional time to prepare.

The trial is expected to be concluded by the end of 2009, which will be certain to drag into appeal.