Sent in by Aroun Rashid Deen, New York.
British supermodel, Naomi Campbell could be heading for The Hague,
Netherlands, to testify as a witness in the trial of former Liberian
leader and warlord, Charles Taylor, if the prosecution gets its way.
Prosecutors at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone have filed a
motion to subpoena Naomi Campbell (pictured) to testify about a piece of rough
diamond that the accused, Charles Taylor, gave her as a gift in September,
1997 in South Africa. Miss Campbell and Taylor were guests at a dinner
hosted by then President Nelson Mandela. The prosecution says the gift is
relevant to the charges that Mr. Taylor faces, as it stands central to its
allegations that the former warlord was instrumental in the smuggling of
rough diamonds from both Sierra Leone and Liberia for “personal enrichment
and arms purchases for rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone.” The
prosecution has said that Mr. Taylor received diamonds from the AFRC/RUF
junta during the indictment period.
The AFRC/RUF junta was a joint force of rebels and rag-tag renegade
soldiers that overthrew the democratically elected government of Sierra
Leone in 1997. They were also responsible for the killing and maiming of
thousands of people during the war. The group was well known for its
brutal trademark of amputating its victims.
Miss Campbell has expressed reservations to give evidence in the court for
fear of her safety. Prosecution documents, however, claim that she did not
deny receiving the gift when interviewed about it on The Oprah Winfrey
Show, aired on May 3, 2010.
A human rights activist, Mia Farrow who was also in South Africa at the
time, was first to suggest that Mr. Taylor had given the supermodel a
diamond.
The call for Campbell’s subpoena came more than a year after the
prosecution had formally closed its case. It, however, states that
evidence about the alleged diamond had not been received at the time. The
prosecution also filed a separate motion to reopen its case after the
Defense phase of the trial.
Even though the Rules of Procedure Evidence do not afford the prosecution
a right to reopen its case, international jurisprudence does allow it in
certain instances. For example, the Trial Chamber of the International
Criminal Tribunal of the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) sitting on in the
Celebici Case in October 1997 granted an application by the prosecutor for
the issuance of subpoenas to six witnesses. This exception is based on Rule
54 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, which provides that "at the
request of either party, a Judge or a Trial Chamber may issue such orders,
summonses, subpoenas, warrants and transfer orders as may be necessary for
the purposes of an investigation or for the preparation or conduct of the
trial.”
The government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations jointly set up the
Special Court to try those who allegedly bear the greatest responsibility
for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the
decade-long bloody war in Sierra Leone.
The Court’s spokesman at The Hague, Solomon Moriba, says the Trial Chamber
will rule on the Prosecution motion in the coming days or weeks. However,
he stated that if the request is granted and Miss Campbell agrees to
testify, she will only do so after the close of the defense case which is
likely to continue into the summer.
It is not known why Taylor gave Campbell and Charles Taylor that led the
latter to give her a diamond.
The 39 year old supermodel is not new to lawsuits and criminal cases. In
June 2008 she was sentenced to 200 hours of community service after
pledging guilty following an incident at Heathrow Airport in London in
which she attacked her household employees and two police officers.
Prosecutors charged that she cursed, kicked and spat at police in a rage
over a missing luggage.
In 2007 she performed a week of community service, sweeping floors and
cleaning toilets in a garbage facility in Manhattan, New York City. The
community service was the sentence imposed after pledging guilty to
misdemeanor assault for hitting her maid with a cell phone because she
couldn’t find a pair of jeans.
Miss Campbell in 2000 pledged guilty to assault charges in Toronto for
beating an assistant.
Some former aids of the supermodel and maids also have sued her, accusing
her of violent outbursts. Some of the cases have been settled.
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