Supermodel Naomi Campbell is scheduled to testify before the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, which sits in Leidschendam, on Thursday 5 August.
 
Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia, is being tried on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors allege that Mr Taylor used "blood diamonds" to fund a war in Sierra Leone. Prosecutors also claim that Mr Taylor gave Naomi Campbell a large uncut blood diamond as a gift after a gala hosted by South Africa's then-president, Nelson Mandela.
 
Gala and a gift
In September 1997, Nelson Mandela hosted a party celebrating the opening of South Africa's luxury rail service; the guests included Charles Taylor, president of Liberia, the actress Mia Farrow, 'supermodel' Naomi Campbell and her agent Carole White.

According to statements by White and Farrow, Charles Taylor was very taken with the supermodel and had his men deliver a "large rough diamond" to her room after the party had broken up. Carole White says she witnessed the diamond being delivered, and Mia Farrow says Campbell told her about it the following morning. Farrow says Campbell told her she would donate the diamond to one of Nelson Mandela's children's charities.
 
Evidence
The prosecution does not have hard evidence to prove that the story is true, but if Campbell tells the truth under oath the incident will corroborate the prosecution's claim that Mr Taylor trafficked in blood diamonds. Because Naomi Campbell had refused to testify, the special court issued a subpoena at the beginning of July. The court also agreed to allow prosecutors to call Mia Farrow and Carole White.
 
Prosecutors accuse Mr Taylor of selling blood diamonds and purchasing weapons for Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels. The 1991-2001 civil war in Sierra Leone was brutal and bloody and the RUF was notorious for hacking off the arms and legs of civilians during the conflict. Mr Taylor's misdeeds in Liberia, including rape, murder, sexual slavery, kidnapping children and forcing them to become soldiers, are well documented but if Campbell testifies that the ex-president did give her a rough diamond, his claim to have never possessed any rough diamonds will be shattered.
 
Media circus
Campbell's testimony has certainly drawn the attention of the world's press back to Mr Taylor's trial; the 2003 indictment and his 2006 arrest made the headlines but interest in the court's proceedings has dwindled since the opening of the trial. The appearance of Naomi Campbell, Mia Farrow and Carole White in the witness box has revived interest in a case the world seems to have forgotten.