The alleged ‘warlord', Charles Taylor, is up for his struggle. The trial of the former Liberian President who stands accused of atrocities in the Sierra Leonean civil war in the 1990s resumes on 18 August.

The prosecution case against Charles Ghankay Taylor (1948) before the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in The Hague is half-way. The trial started in January this year and of its projected 67 witnesses the tribunal has heard 35 individuals to give proof on Taylor's link to the Sierra Leonean conflict (1991-2002). The second round will start on Monday. The trial is expected to last until summer next year.

Highly dedicated
The former president is in good condition his lawyer Courtenay Griffiths said. "Mr. Taylor is a very strong individual. And he looks after himself extremely well." He adds that Taylor "is certainly up for his struggle" and that he is "greatly involved in the conducting of his defence. He is constantly passing his lawyers notes. And he is holding up extremely well."

There remain some problems however. Griffiths is highly concerned with the conditions in the ICC detention unit in Scheveningen where Taylor is held with four other African indictees. "The joke is in The Hague that it is not the International Criminal Court, it is the African Criminal Court," he says. It seems to him "that the UN has to ensure that the facilities should properly reflect their cultural identity." Currently the personnel is only Dutch and it sometimes leads to incidents. The prison conditions are one of the first issues Taylor's defence team will raise with the court.

War crimes
Taylor, President of Liberia from 1997 to 2003, is charged with crimes against humanity, including murder, sexual slavery and violence, and enslavement. He also faces counts of war crimes, including acts of terrorism and torture. He did not commit these crimes with his own hands but is accused facilitating them. Taylor has denied all of the 11 charges

The trial is taking place at the premises of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for security reasons, but it is being conducted by the UN-backed Sierra Leone Tribunal which is housed in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital.

Gruesome testimonies
In the past year the court has heard gruesome testimonies from a range of witnesses from all over the world. In the first weeks experts related on both the brutalities of the Sierra Leonean and Liberian war (1991-2002) and so-called ‘blood diamonds'. The stones were at the heart the conflict as their profits on the world market were used to finance the armed rebellion and terror campaign by the infamous Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

Witnesses also told the court about the cruelties that had tormented the west-African countries. Civilians were terrorised by rebels who randomly cut off arms and legs, kidnapped and drugged children for combat and burned down villages. The court even heard stories of cannibalism, which is believed to be committed by Liberian rebels to show superiority over their enemies.

All these testimonies should establish a link with Charles Taylor. The court which deals exclusively with the atrocities in Sierra Leone, believes that Taylor is the main instigator of the conflict and supported the rebels with money and weapons. It was Taylor's plan to destabilise Sierra Leone to his personal benefit and it were his weapons and support that killed and mutilated many people, the court believes.

The Freetown court
The Sierra Leone Tribunal which was set up to try those ‘most responsible' for the atrocities committed during the 1990s war, finished its last trial in Freetown on 5 August. A final ruling by the court's judges against three Revolutionary United Front (RUF) members is expected in October.

They each face an 18-count indictment for crimes against humanity and war crimes. These include terrorism, murder, sexual violence, the use of child soldiers and attacks on UN personnel. The indictments against the infamous RUF leader Foday Sankoh and RUF Battlefield Commander Sam Bockarie were withdrawn in 2003 due to the deaths of the two accused.

Proceedings in two other cases, one involving three former leaders of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the other involving two former leaders of the Civil Defence Forces (CDF), are complete, including appeals. The whereabouts and fate of former AFRC leader Johnny Paul Koroma are unknown. The indictment against him remains in force.

First African head of state before International Justice
Taylor is the first African head of state to be on trial for war crimes before an international tribunal. On 31 April 2004, the court ruled Taylor's position as former Head of State could not prevent him from being prosecuted by an international tribunal.

Maybe he is not the last African head of state to face international justice. Sudan's president al-Bashir has been accused of committing genocide in Darfur by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (IIC). Amidst political controversy over the allegations the ICC judges are reviewing a possible warrant of arrest.

Live streaming of the Taylor trial