The war crimes trial against former Liberian president Charles Taylor resumes Monday. The prosecution continues its cross-examination before the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), in The Hague.

Charles Taylor has been testifying on cross-examination by the prosecution since 10 November 2009. Two prosecution attorneys have conducted the cross-examination of Mr. Taylor: Brenda Hollis and Nicholas Koumjian. The trial adjourned on 7 December.

When court resumes, the prosecutors will continue to make use of documents to challenge Taylor’s credibility and show he was not truthful during his direct testimony.

“We’re very much looking forward to confronting Mr. Taylor with more material as soon as trial resumes on January 11,” says acting Acting Prosecutor, Joseph Kamara. He adds “we are pleased to have begun our cross in earnest, and to be challenging the accused with documents to show he has not been truthful in this courtroom.”

Charles Taylor - who has been claiming he had been a peacemaker in West-Africa in the 1990’s – has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone. But Kamara trusts in the court’s case. “Throughout our cross we will confront his claim that he was a peacemaker in Sierra Leone. Our evidence shows just the opposite,” he says.

“Given the length of Mr. Taylor’s direct-examination, there are many issues for us to explore. We certainly don’t intend to take as long as the 13 weeks the defence took. But it’s important that we fully test Mr. Taylor’s stories and account.”