PHOTO BY: UN Photo/Christopher Herwig.
Liberia's former President Charles Taylor, the first African ruler to stand trial for war crimes, took the stand today in his own defense at the Special Court in Sierra Leone.
After fleeing his home in exile in Nigeria, Taylor was taken into custody by border guards back in March 2006, then transported by the United Nations to Sierra Leone.
VIDEO HERE.The Special Court in Sierra Leone indicted Taylor in June 2003 on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the war in Sierra Leone but later changed the charges to 11 counts in 2006 to ensure a focused trial. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.The charges against Taylor included acts of terrorism, murder, rape, enslavement, conscripting child soldiers, sexual slavery, pillage and outrages upon personal dignity.
SOURCE: UNMIL.
