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Prosecutor Preps Taylor Case Amid Venue Doubts

Desmond de Silva points to a map showing areas of rebel activities in Sierra Leone during the 1990s.
Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR
Desmond de Silva points to a map showing areas of rebel activities in Sierra Leone during the 1990s.

Charles Taylor's chief prosecutor will make his a case against the man he describes as "a regional warlord at the epicenter of the whole region." That region is West Africa. And Desmond de Silva has misgivings about the wisdom of putting Taylor, the former Liberian president, on trial in neighboring Sierra Leone.

Taylor is being carefully guarded, awaiting a Monday court appearance at a U.N.-backed special tribunal in Freetown to face 11 counts of war crimes. But officials want the trial be moved to Europe -- though still under the auspices of the special court -- to avoid stirring unrest in Liberia that could spill across the border.

The Dutch government says a resolution by the U.N. Security Council would provide a solid legal basis for changing the venue of the trial to The Hague. Britain has already begun circulating a draft resolution.

Desmond de Silva lends John Ydstie his insights about the direction the trial will take.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.