The Trial of Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr.

The defense attorney cross examined a witness who testified as being someone that had top secret information. He told the court that he was a body guard to the president’s wife and the defendant. He had a fake name that he went by as Prince Johnson with no affiliation to the famous one known in history. He was a soldier and as one he killed people but did not remember the details. He explained to the court, that he worked for the government and his boss was Benjamin Yeaten. The defense attorney asked, why would he choose to work for someone that is known to be cruel? He answered, he worked for the government and Benjamin is who he was assigned to work under. The defense attorney cross examination was rather aggressive and there were times that the witness ask the attorney to not put words in his mouth. He explained to the court that Chuckie, was the leader of the ATU and it was well-known that he was the leader. He gave his account of the defendant ordering ATU soldiers to cut the grass, which was a form of punishment. He also spoke of the time in July 2002, when he was arrested under the orders of Charles Taylor under suspicion of being a rebel and out of fear; he never questioned the president for his arrest. The defense attorney seemed bothered by the witness lack of inquiry but the witness expressed his fear of the president and explained that Charles Taylor was someone not to be questioned. The witness was later re-directed by the prosecution in an effort to clarify some of the things that the defense attorney try to discredit and the witness was excused.

The next witness called by the government was FBI Agent Greg Naples. The agent explained how he was the one to put together the photo spread that was shown to witnesses to identify Chucky Taylor. The agent explained how he was careful to not make the photo spread suggestive and that all the pictures that were used were sent by the U.S Marshalls. He explained of the time back in December 2006 where he met with a witness at Starbucks, I believed by the name of Dullah, and the witness positively identified Chucky Taylor from the photo spread. The agent went on to tell of another meeting he had with another witness by the name of Kamarah (name might be misspelled) and how this witness was not able to identify the defendant.

The agent was asked about his trip to Liberia in April of 2006 and he explained that it was for the purpose of gathering evidence. An objection was made on the behalf of the defense attorney and the attorneys approached the bench. After a few moments, the attorneys returned and the agent was allowed to continue. He explained to the court how he and the other men he traveled with had received a court order that allowed them to take photographs and collect evidence. He explained how they went to White Flower along with the Liberian National Police but was turned away and not allowed to take photographs upon the arrival of Sango Johnson. Sango Johnson was very upset at the arrival of the men and beginning yelling profusely at them and ordered them off the property. The agent explained that a crowd of 50-60 angry people begin to surround them and for their safety, they decided to leave and forego the effort of obtaining evidence. The agent then went on to list the names of the victims that appeared in the indictment and he was asked by the prosecutor if he ever heard the term “GAT”. The prosecution ended their direct examination with that question.

Before cross examination, the judge told the jury that the testimony they just heard from the agent was just relevant to show that the agent and his men were hindered in their efforts to gather evidence but that in no way is this suggestive that the defendant had anything to do with this. The defense attorney began a line of questioning that questioned the reliability of the photo spread done by the agent. The attorney asked the agent if Chucky was the only prominent Liberian leader he had in the photo spread and the agent answered in the affirmative. The defense attorney went on to suggest through his line of questioning that Chucky was the son of the president, a well-known person throughout Liberia and basically a familiar face to many. On re-direct, the prosecution asked the agent if Chucky resembled Benjamin Yeaten or Kampari and the agent replied no.

The last witness for the State in the morning court session was Mr. Smith. He was born in Ohio, and currently resides in Miami. He is an officer with the United States Customs. He spoke of the time in March 2006 when he arrested Chucky Taylor at Miami International Airport. He was able to identify the defendant by examining his passport. The passport was shown to the court and was indentified as the passport that the defendant had on him on the day of his arrest. Mr. Smith then identified the defendant in the court room as the man he arrested in March of 2006. He explained to the court what he found in the search that he conducted of the defendant belongings. The items of interest were a book on guerilla tactics and spiral notebooks that contained rap lyrics in the defendant handwriting. The copy of the book cover and a page with handwriting was shown to the court. Additionally, the court was shown several portions of the rap lyrics that were allegedly written by the defendant that spoke of violence and the ATU soldiers being “gangsta.” The court then took a recess at about 12:30pm.

This morning’s session focused on the defense’s cross examination and prosecution’s redirect of victim Dullah, as well as the prosecution’s calling of Mr. Kelleh. In terms of the cross examination of Dullah, the defense tried to establish that there were inconsistencies in the victim’s account of his torture experience. For example, the defense placed two pieces of evidence (exhibits 3 and 4) into the court record. These exhibits were letters that were signed by the victim while working with the UN officials. Previously, the victim testified that he had come out of his home freely, while both letters stated that his home was broken into by the President’s bodyguards. Defense then asked Dullah if he exaggerated in the letters, and he responded that it must have been a misinterpretation by the official who typed the accounts up and also that the breaking in he was referring to was when he was taken back into his bedroom by the guards. Also in discrepancy was the issue of whether the 100 men outside his home when he was arrested were in plain clothes (like the letters stated) or in ATU uniforms and black jump suits (what victim had previously testified to). The defense also alluded to the issue that the victim was claiming asylum to obtain medical treatment for a serious medical condition and also that he claimed asylum in 2005, after the war in Liberia had ended and new President was in office.

In redirect, the prosecution asked questions to show once again that Chuckie Taylor had used a hot iron, boiling iron, and electric devices to torture the victim. The prosecution then cleared up the inconsistencies in the victim’s previous letters and testimony. The victim stated that the letters were not his account of torture word for word, but rather a summary that was later typed up by an UN official. Dullah also answered that, with regard to his serious health condition and seeking of asylum, he had already been cleared to come to the U.S. before he found out about it.

The prosecution then called Mr. Kelleh to the stand. However, he was called minutes before breaking for lunch recess, so his testimony in this session is minimal. Kelleh stated that he was woken up at 1:45 am sometime in July 2002 by his friend Mamo Gu Delly and was told to go wake up Dullah at his house. Kelleh did this and later testified that he witnessed the guards firing at Dullah. Dullah was then captured and carried into a car. Before breaking for lunch, Judge Altonaga stated that something was going to have to be done about Kelleh’s testimony due to the fact that his English was spoken very quickly and was difficult to understand. Both the defense and the prosecution agreed that the interpreter was to be used from this point on.

The prosecution resumed its questioning of Mr. Dullah.  Mr. Dullah described his abduction from his home outside Monrovia on July 25, 2002, by armed men, some dressed in black jumpsuits, some dressed in ATU uniforms.  They searched his bedroom, and took a cell phone, money from under his mattress and papers.  They accused him of being a rebel who wanted to overthrow President Charles Taylor.

He was taken first to the home of Mumu Sesay, an adviser to President Taylor, and then to White Flower, the home of President Taylor (about a block away from Sesay’s house).  The witness said he feared for his life as he was taken into the compound.

Arriving at the compound, Dullah was taken to President Taylor’s office, where the President was waiting, along with Chuckie Taylor, generals Momo Giba and Benjamin Yeaten, and others.

The president asked Dullah what he knew about rebel plans to smuggle troops from the bush into the US Embassy in Monrovia, and about the locations of weapons caches.  (Apparently, it was believed that Dullah would have information because he is the nephew of Alhaji Kromah, though Dullah testified that he was never involved in rebel activities.)

When Dullah told President Taylor that he knew nothing of any rebel plans or weapons locations, the President told Dullah that he would be handed over to Gen. Yeaten, and that Yeaten would make him tell the truth.  Before he left, Dullah asked Taylor if he could make a statement, which the president allowed him.

Dullah testified that he told the president, “President Taylor, my life is in your hands.”

The president responded, “Your life is in God’s hands,” according to Dullah’s testimony.

Dullah was then taken to Gen. Yeaten’s house.  At first, he was told that he would be given money for telling the truth.  Again, he denied knowing anything about rebel activities.  The general then became angry, and took Dullah to the garage.

Chuckie Taylor was present, along with other armed soldiers.  His shirt was removed.  Rags were stuffed in his mouth, and then his shirt was tied around his head, to gag Dullah.  A clothes iron (“pressing iron”) was brought out, and the general pressed it into his skin 3-5 times, on his arm, back, side, leg and foot.  Dullah testified that Taylor could see what was happening.

Dullah was asked if he was ready to talk.  He nodded yes, and the gag was removed.  When he again said he knew nothing, the gag was replaced, and the abuse continued.

The general took boiling water, and poured it on Dullah’s head and back.  Taylor and Yeaten held guns to Dullah’s head, and ordered him to cup his hands as boiling water was poured into them.  He was told that he would be shot if he moved his hands away.

Chuckie asked Dullah if he remembered that the man in the office he had talked to “had a Bible in his hands,” and told Dullah that he (Taylor) “did not have a Bible in his hands.”  Dullah said he took that to understand that President Taylor was “kind,” while Chuckie was “wicked.”

Taylor himself then used an electric shock device on Dullah, shocking him on various parts of his body, including his neck, back and penis.  Dullah testified that Taylor said that he could kill Dullah, and nothing would happen.

Dullah was forced at gunpoint to call Alhaji Kromah, and read from a script about plans for rebel activity.  Kromah asked him what he was talking about, and said that for whoever could hear him, that Dullah knew nothing about rebel activity.

After the phone call, soldiers rubbed salt in the wounds Dullah had received from the hot iron and boiling water.

Dullah was then taken to a cell in the general’s compound.  Dullah said he overheard a soldier say that the chief was going to “zero” (kill) him.

Dullah pointed to various locations on a large three-dimensional model of the area where he had been taken, and also showed jurors the scars from the iron burns on his arm and side.

After three or four hours in the cell at the general’s house, he was again put in a jeep.  He wound up at Klay Junction.  He then spent about ten days to two weeks being held with other men under a truck weigh-scale.  It was a rectangular concrete area, only about 2-3 feet high.

After that, he was taken to Foya and then to Pelo, where he was kept in a house and in an abandoned out house.  He received no medical treatment during this time.  He was then flown back to Monrovia, and placed in a cell at the National Bureau of Investigation.  He was here for ten months, at no time being charged with a crime or being permitted to talk with a lawyer.

In time, he was able to talk to workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross.  He was released on July 11, 2003, nearly a year after being taken from his home.

He felt unsafe staying in Liberia, and with help from the Red Cross and the UN High Commission on Refugees, was able to get out of the country.  He went to Guinea, and was then joined by his wife and one of his children.  He applied for asylum in the US, where he now lives with his wife and one child.  Two of his children remain with his mother in Guinea.

Asked why he was testifying today, Dullah said, “I want the world to hear my story, and Justice to be served.  I want people to be accountable for their actions.  I want people to be free of torture.”

Court adjourned at 3:30 pm, and will resume at 9 am Tuesday Morning. (Federal courts are closed Monday, in observance of Columbus Day.)

When I arrived in the courtroom the prosecution for the U.S. government was in the middle of questioning a witness on the stand. Unlike the last witness I saw in court that was dressed in a suit, this witness was wearing a green sweatshirt/rain jacket. This witness was also not seemingly fluent in English as he often had trouble understanding and answering questions.

When I entered the courtroom the prosecution was asking about “White flower.” The witness saw Chucky Taylor at white flower. The subject changed before I got to understand what white flower was/is. The prosecution seemed to be testing the witness’s memory. The witness said he was a combat soldier for the ATU. The government asked the witness whether he was involved in armed conflict to which the witness had trouble understanding until the question was re-phrased as “Did you fight with people?” to which he responded affirmatively. But he responded “no” to the whether he was involved in combat against civilians. The prosecutor asked if there was disarmament in Liberia related to the UNMIL (United Nations Mission in Liberia)…“yes.” He was asked if disarmament affected him to which the witness responded “yes, I was disarmed.” After disarmament the ATU was dissolved at which time the witness went to trade school and studied agriculture. He said he worked on an agriculture but later applied and was hired at a security company. He currently is employed as security to protect company facilities. Lastly, the prosecutor asked if he had ever gone back to Gbatala Base and he said he had when was passing through.

Then counsel for the defense began cross-examination. The attorney informed the witness that if he had any trouble with his accent to ask the interpreter to clarify. The defense attorney posed almost all of his questions as statements rather than questions to which the witness primarily responded with a “yes” or “no.” Liberia was a violent place, a lot of people getting injured and stabbed during the war…Yes. Were you ever injured? Yes, two bullet wounds.

The witness said that people were picking sides during the war. He fought for IMPFL then switched sides for NPFL. Between 1990 to 1997 there were a lot of factions fighting. He had training with the ATU which gave uniforms, taught about hygiene, classroom on base called “college of knowledge.” He said he was not paid for being in the ATU but acknowledged that he was given clothes and fed and trained by trainers from other countries.  He received Geneva Convention training and class by International Red Cross but he could not remember anything taught to him from those classes.

When he joined IMPFL they did not teach hygiene, weapons training, etc. But they did exercise. Then he switched to the NPFL where similarly he was not provided uniforms or training. He was just given a gun and told go fight.

On further cross-examination, the witness said he volunteered to fight in the ATU. It was a good job and many people in Liberia didn’t have a job. Every day he would show up at Chucky Taylor or another ATU leaders house looking for a job. He needed a recommendation to get the job. The defense asked if the witness filled out an application to become an ATU soldier? He said no.  Did you do a background check? Yes. The witness often seemed confused by the questions and the questions seemed almost repetitive. You were being trained to protect your country and the president and his family? Yes. Was a man punished for going AWOL—leaving the ATU? He left his fellow soldiers so was punished for it.

The witness said Chucky would come to the base two to three times a week. Chucky lived in Monrovia. Civilians worked on the base—cooks—about three or four.  The defense asked if the witness was familiar with a man named Chicken Soup? Yes, a cook. Were you in a brigade? Whole ATU is a brigade then were battalions. The witness was in the 1^st battalion. Under that were 4 companies of which the witness was part of the D company. Below companies were 3 platoons. He could not remember to which platoon he was a part. Then there were 4 squads below the platoons.

The defense asked questions about discrepancies in details of the witness’ testimony.  Was he on the base from mid 1998 to December of 1999, or after 2000?  Witness was asked to read the day before yesterday’s question from prosecution and his answer.

The witness was a part of 3 different military organizations. Did he graduate Dec. 15 or Nov. 15? The defense went to the testimony transcripts again to point out the discrepancy. The witness said he would never forget his graduation date of Dec. 15. Other possible inconsistencies were questioned, including whether there were guests at graduation from outside Africa, whether the ATU uniform had both a cobra and a scorpion on the patch (the witness could not remember), whether he had correctly identified Charles Taylor and Benjamin Yeaten in a photograph, whether his memory of the incidents was clear. 

The defense attorney’s questioning seemed to aim to show that the witness was not credible and had faulty memory of the events. In the end of many of the questions I could not tell whether the witness had been caught in lies or mistakes or if the defense was just putting the questions out to make it seem that way.

The judge recessed for lunch and the questioning would continue afterward.

The afternoon session started with the Defense finishing its cross of Mr. Ketter, one of Chuckie Taylor’s drivers. As a civilian, Mr. Ketter testified he drove Chuckie Taylor (Taylor) to the base three times during the course of his employment. The Defense showed two exhibits: a picture of soldiers in camouflage uniform with Taylor in a black uniform, and a picture of a camouflage shirt. The Government reexamined Mr. Ketter who testified Taylor had at least two other military drivers and was not allowed on the base. Taylor did not look up to acknowledge Mr. Ketter as he left the courtroom upon completion of questioning.

The Government questioned the second witness, Mr. Sieh, a recruit from Monrovia, Liberia, to examine the training of the ATU recruits, their uniforms, and punishments received while on base. Mr. Sieh claimed that Mr. Saifa Norma suggested they form a unit called the Demon Forces, which Taylor would lead. According to the witness, Taylor said the unit would be for his father and immediate family. Based on the promise of food and a job, Mr. Sieh agreed to join.

According to the witness, once on the Gbatala base, which he testified was formerly run by the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), Mr. Sieh met David Campari, whom he identified as the base commander. Mr. Sieh described his training, which included anti-tracking (searching for someone in the bush), obstacle work, patrols, hand-to-hand combat, and training in arms. The witness testified the trainers were white, non-American men. The government showed Mr. Sieh a picture which included four individuals, two of whom he identified as trainers, Oscar and Mino, David Campari, and an unidentified recruit. Mr. Sieh said Taylor delivered weapons and ammunition to the base, and Campari issued AK47s and bayonets to the recruits after one week of training. The Government then presented the witness with three plastic bags and asked him to identify the objects within them. According to Mr. Sieh, the bags contained used ammunition shells like those he had seen at the firing range at the base, an ammunition belt for a German Machine Gun (GMG), and a button from a uniform.

The witness then identified a picture of the “College of Knowledge,” a building the recruits constructed during renovation of the NPFL base to convert it to an ATU base. According to Mr. Sieh, the recruits also dug about 20 holes within the base and constructed the prison compound known as “the village.”

The witness answered questions about the treatment of the recruits. Mr. Sieh described one form of punishment known as ‘billie’ (pronounced bill-ee’), where a soldier carried an 8-10 foot log on his bare back while running in circles for long periods of time and was whipped if he stopped before ordered. According to Mr. Sieh, Chuckie Taylor was present while a soldier was punished with billie and that Campari ordered the punishments. Mr. Sieh also that testified his friend was caught trying to escape from the camp and was dragged on his back until he was bloody. The jury was dismissed.

After the judge dismissed the jury for the day, the Defendant took up a motion to strike Mr. Sieh’s testimony from the record and instruct the jury to ignore it. According to the Defense, the witness named two soldiers, one, his friend who was dragged on his back, and a second who was billied, but the Defense was not provided with these names and had no opportunity to check the facts. Defense counsel claimed this prejudiced their ability to adequately defend Chuckie Taylor. The Defense also argued that the invasion of another country and the discipline of ATU soldiers has nothing to do with torture. He contended that such evidence did not fall within the strict definition of torture and anything outside that is an amendment to the indictment.

The Government countered that names of the soldiers were provided to the Defense on August 25, 2008. The Government also countered that the questions were well within the parameters of the indictment because Chuckie Taylor is on trial for conspiracy to induce torture. The Government assured the Court that it did not plan to question the invasion of Guinea, but to limit questions to activities within the Liberian border. The Government denied that its questions were outside the scope of the indictment or that the indictment had been amended.

The Judge denied the motion to strike the testimony. The Court observed that the Defense had the names of the soldiers prior to the trial and had nearly five weeks to prepare its defense. The Court further ruled that the indictment involves a broad range of torture which an army was raised to commit, and that the testimony provided background to raising that army.

During the afternoon of October 7, 2008, three witnesses testified.  The afternoon began with a woman being cross-examined by the defense.  Two factors made it very difficult to follow the woman’s testimony.  First, the woman was not testifying in English and a translator was present.  Second, the line of questioning from the defense was not linear, in part, because of difficulties that arose from the language barrier.

The second witness was a man born in Sierra Leone who was called to testify about his brother’s experiences and death.  The witness testified that at the outbreak of the civil war he fled to Kenema and then eventually to Monrovia.  During his travels he was separated from his brother.  Eventually, the siblings were reunited in Monrovia under very unfortunate circumstances.  Upon the witness’ arrival in Monrovia he saw a friend that lead him to his brother.  His brother was being held captive in a detention center.  The witness said his brother looked unwell, physically and mentally.  While visiting his brother, the witness also saw two other men he had known previously, he described them as looking in very poor health too.

After seeing his brother in the cell, the witness went to the Sierra Leone Ambassador and then to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR).  The witness pled his case to the Deputy Protection Officer and the Protection Officer at UNHCR.  With the help of these people he was able to get his brother released from the cell and transferred to the Greystone Clinic, a medical facility.

The witness lived with his brother at Greystone because his brother could no longer take care of himself.  The brother’s arms no longer worked, and the witness stayed with his brother to take care of him and feed him.  The witness also described his brother as having scars on his elbows, burns on his body that appeared fresh and markings as if he had been tied up.  The other men that the witness had scene at the detention center had also been transferred to Greystone and were described to have similar scars, burns and markings on their bodies.

The third witness was the doctor that attended to the second witness’ brother as well as the other two friends, while they were at Greystone.  The doctor testified that all three men were in poor hygenic condition, undernourished, walking slowly and hesitantly.  In addition, he said that all three men were standing with their arms bent at the elbows (at almost a 90 degree angle) with their hands flexed.  The doctor said this was an antalgic position, which is a position adopted to avoid exacerbating pain.  The doctor’s testimony was interrupted at this point as it was nearing the end of the day, so he was scheduled to finish testifying the following morning.

The afternoon session started with the continuation of cross examination of a witness by the defense attorney. The witness told the court that he used to work for Chuckie Taylor’s mother and it was through the mother that he came in contact with the defendant. He spoke of him and Chuckie’s first meeting and how he showed up unannounced to Chuckie’s house on the instruction of Chuckie’s mother. He remarked how Chuckie was angered at first at his surprise visit but later calmed down when Chuckie learn that his mother had sent the man over to work for Chuckie as his driver. Chuckie hired the man and paid him about $150 a month. The witness testified that he drove Chuckie around to various places such as the club, friends’ home, and the Gbatala base. The witness explained that as Chuckie’s driver he was always on call and that he spent so much time with Chuckie that he basically lived with him. The witness testified that he remembered taking Chuckie over to the base on three occasions and that each time he did, there were guns in the car. Defense counsel was sure to point out to the court that Chuckie Taylor was the son of the President of Liberia, insinuating the guns were there for protective measures due to his status.

The witness testified that he never was allowed unto the actual base and understood his role as just the driver and that he was to stay with the car until Chuckie was ready to leave the base. The witness testified that from the distance of the car he did see women cooking in the cafeteria and men doing carpentry work around the base. The defense attorney kept asking the witness whether the people he saw working on the base appeared to be civilians. The witness replied that he couldn’t tell for sure but maybe. The defense attorney asked the witness, did Chuckie Taylor ever give him money for personal needs? The witness said that yes, he suffered from chronic phenomena and Chuckie gave him between $175-200 to get treatment to cure it.

On re-direct the prosecution asked the witness, did Chuckie have additional drivers? The witness said yes, there were two other drivers who were military. The prosecuting attorney then asked the witness; did he ever enter the base? The witness replied in the negative. The prosecuting attorney then asked why. The witness replied that he was not allowed, Chuckie told him that he were to wait by the car and that he knew that if he did anything different, there would be problems. The prosecution had no further questions for the witness and the witness was dismissed.

The second witness to appear on the stand was Mr. Sieh. He explained to the court how he first got involved with the defendant. He told the court that a man by the name of Seefah Norma (caution: name possibly misspelled) recommended him to be a soldier for the demon forces. He was told that the leader would be Chuckie Taylor and his job would be to guard the President or his immediate family. The witness went on to testify that initially he reported to Chuckie’s house several times and that Chuckie would come out the house and speak to him and the other recruits. He said, Chuckie told them that they would be well taken care of and paid well. The witness was then asked to identify Chuckie Taylor in the court room and he did so.

The witness then went on to tell the court about the Gbatala base and how he was trained there from 1998-1999 and graduated on December 15, 1999. The commander of the base was named David Campari and he was described as a huge man. The deputy of the base was name Mack and he was described as being small. The witness informed the court that initially upon his arrival on the base; it was still going though revision and that he and other recruits worked on finishing the base by digging holes, cutting bushes, and building structures. A picture of a structure was then put on display for the court depicting a building by the name of: “College of Knowledge”. The witness said that he and other recruits built the building depicted in the picture. The witness then told the court that at the base, he was given a mattress, eating utensils, and civilian clothes. It wasn’t until they started training that they received their camouflage uniforms. The witness was asked about the trainers that trained them as soldiers and a picture was shown to the court that showed two of the trainers who were white men. The witness said that he was trained on assembling and disabling arms, anti-tracking (determining foot prints and the number of men who passed through the path), battle craft, tactics, use of an AK 47, and rocket propelled grenades. He told the court that they were never trained on the Geneva Convention and that Chucky Taylor supplied ammunition to them on the base.

The witness said that, Monday- Fridays they were trained and the weekends were suppose to be the days they rest and wash their clothes but that in reality they worked around the base and built buildings on those days. The witness told the court that he and other recruits built “The Village” which was one of the prison compounds on the base that held prisoners of war, some were civilians and some were military. He explained that the prison was built on swampy land and they were basically holes covered with sticks and thatches. He said they build about 20 holes and they were about five to six feet, wet holes due to the rain and it being on swampy land. He told the court that it took about three months to build the village.

The witness then informed the court that the MP Headquarters was another place that prisoners were held. He said this place had actual cells and housed recruits who committed minor crimes. He explained to the court that MP stood for: Military Police and those were recruits who were appointed by Campari.

The witness told the court that during his time on the base, the unit name was changed from demon forces to ATU (Anti-Terrorism Unit) with Chuckie Taylor still as the leader. The new name came with a change in uniform. The uniforms were no longer just the familiar green and brown camouflage color but black tiger stripe uniforms. These new style of uniforms were worn by the solders, Chuckie, and his body guards. He then told the court how the force grew from 75 men to much more and that the new recruits came from NPFL and Sierra Leone.

The witness was asked about a recruit by the name of Prince De Shaun (name might be misspelled) and how his training was cut short on the base when he was arrested. The witness told the court how initially, Prince was held in the village but later was held in the MP headquarters. The witness informed the court that Prince was held in prison up until the time Sieh graduated from the base and that Prince was often beaten, creamed ( naked body covered in mud), dragged, and billied. Billied is a term used for toting a heavy log on your shoulders and running in circles which created sores on the shoulder. The witness told the court that when a person was billied, he was naked and told to run in circles up until Campari told them to stop. The witness said that Chucky Taylor was present during the times that these types of things took place.

The witness spoke of the time when Prince escaped from prison but was re-captured. He explained how Campari assembled all the soldiers together and explained that punishment for smoking, stealing, escaping, etc would be dragging. He told how Prince was creamed (disrobed and covered with mud), on his back with both his legs held by the soldiers and dragged a long distance (witness said from the witness stand to outside the court two times) across the road. The witness explained how he saw blood left on the road from the dragging and that the body was covered in blood.

Mr. Sieh told the court that the base was not open to the public and that the soldiers were not allowed to go and come as they pleased. He explained that the only civilians that were allowed on the base were cooks.

Mr. Sieh spoke on the different deployments but then the court was adjourned for the day at 4:30.

THERE WILL BE NO TRIAL THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2008. TRIAL WILL CONTINUE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2008 FROM 9:00 AM TILL 3:30PM

After the jury was dismissed for the day, the prosecution explained the purpose of having the witness testify on the deployment of the Guinea Liberia border to which defense counsel vehemently objected. Upon the State explanation, the judge will allow the witness to testify to it on Friday.

Defense counsel became upset and told the court that the prosecution is moving past the indictment and distancing the case from torture. He wanted the testimony of Mr. Sieh stricken from the court record and to have the jury disregard it or declare a mistrial. He argued that he was only given the name of the witness but never informed that he would testify on the discipline of military soldiers and that this was out of context and that he was not given proper notice and as a result could not adequately defend his client on these allegations.

The judge disagreed with him and will have the witness continue with his testimony and not have it stricken with the record.

Before resuming cross examination, counsel for both parties discussed the possible presentation by the defense of a live demonstration using flexcuffs. The prosecution objected under federal rules of evidence 403 as being unfairly prejudicial and inappropriate. They provided case law and argued that there was no way to prove the cuffs used in the demonstration were the same type used on the witness and also that the witness did not see how the cuffs he had on him were removed because his arms were tied behind him. The matter was to be resolved at lunch.

The defense then resumed its cross-examination of witness Mr. J. Defense began with the witness’ first escape from Gbatala. The defense questioned the witness about his employment with AccionFem and that he had traveled south across the bridge to Bana and then to Monrovia and that the witness took this route several times. The defense made numerous attempts to get the witness to admit to knowing he was going ”south” deeper into Liberia, but the witness consistently said he did not know if he was going south, although he did know what cities he was going to.

The defense then read the witnesses statements from the previous day. In the statement read, the witness had claimed he was kept two nights in the Gbarnga Police Station but now was saying it was only one night. The witness agreed that the previous statement was incorrect, he was only there one night.

The witness later agreed that in Voinjama he saw Campari. However, under prior testimony, the witness said previously it was Gbatala where he first saw Campari. The witness admitted it was in December in Voinjama where he had first seen him.

The defense asked the witness if he had spoken to anyone about his testimony in this case, specifically, if the witness had told a man named Tori. The witness said no. The defense asked how the plastic cuffs were removed but the witness didn’t know exactly.

During the first escape there was no one chasing him. He was naked, tired, and weakened. Yet, as the defense phrased it, he was still able to run for eight hours before being re-captured by the ATU. Once captured, the ATU brought the witness to the same part of the camp which is where the Abu Cole incident occurred. After that the witness was placed in a whole with another man M. T. The plastic cuffs were removed before being placed in hole. The soldiers tied the two prisoners, the witness and M.T., with their hands raised above them through the metal grating covering the hole. The hole was filled water and other foul things. The prisoners were fed hot cassava roots and rice. The witness also said he was burned with plastic.

Somehow a metal spoon fell into the hole, even though the prisoners had been being fed with plastic plates. The witness apparently broke the spoon and sharpened the broken edges which took him several hours to do. That same night the witness escaped. He was caught the next day and taken to Monrovia.

The defense attacked the witness’ previous statement that he had been physically incapable of picking up his daughter after he had eventually got away from detainment due to the injuries he sustained from the torture. The defense questioned the cause of the pain since the witness appears to have been able to escape with the use of his arms, the pain to his arms must have occurred sometime after that. The prosecution’s objection that the defense was talking over the witness was overruled. The witness said that it was at BTC when the pain endured. He was not paralyzed in the cell. So the witness cut plastic with a spoon and escaped from the hole, even though a man had told him he heard the soldiers were going to kill men from Sierra Leon. The witness was going to escape anyways.

The defense then asked about the witness’ second escape. During this escape attempt, the witness was away from the camp longer than the first escape. He was naked, saw a farm, found some pants and a shirt. The ATU ran toward them. Chuckie wasn’t there. M.T. struggled with the soldiers so they beat him. The witness was tied tiebay with ropes (not cuffs). They walked back to base and the soldiers took the witness to Chuckie and Campari. Campari ordered them killed but news from Monrovia came to the effect saying “Papi wants to see these guys” addressed to Chuckie. The soldiers continued beating them anyways. They replaced the rope with plastic and the witness got to the compound of Charles Taylor Sr. at night. Taylor Sr. was dressed in panjamas at that time. Taylor Sr. asked the witness prisoner: are you the guys who refuse to go to the country and fight when they are most needed and were they the commandeers who attacked Voinjama? Taylor Sr. then said he would order them to be taken to a beach and have their heads cut off. The defense minister was also present and felt they should have killed the witnesses earlier and that instead they should just interrogate them. But that never happened.

At BTC the witness was put in a room with lots of people. He was eventually brought to the clinic. A man, D.C., eventually saw him several days later in cell. The witness not sure if he saw D.C. say “please don’t report this” to a woman named C.V. The witness never saw D.C. begging on his knees to her. The witness was at Greystone Clinic several days and then taken to a refugee camp. While at the camp, he was taken away more than three times to get beaten by Liberian police officers. One of the beatings, he was taken to Cardeel Police Station and was there until the morning.

Mr. K. had a daughter who was the lady M.T. brought to Sweden as his wife. M.T. later brought his first wife later. The witness refused to talk to defense and doesn’t know why. The witness didn’t tell the prosecution that M.T. lied about his wives. The witness knew he would testify in M.T. trial. The witness went to a forensic medical expert but had no pyschological exam and refused to use defenses medical experts.

Four people killed at bridge, gunshot wound from an ambush in Sierra Leone in 1995 by rebels. Lots of opportunity to get injured during war. Its not as safe as the United States. In 2002 the Civil War was declared over. He feels that Sweden is home to him. He has been there eight years.

RE-DIRECT BY PROSECUTION

At the checkpoint, the witness had his watch taken away. Because of that he could not give precise times. The prosecution asked: “When watching the defendant select men in your group, how important was time? …When you saw men shot? ….Beaten?” He was not able to take notes. Time was not important. It didn’t matter how long the beatings took.

During his second escape the witness was thinking at that time, “either escape or they kill me.” His heart was beating faster. He was brought back to Gbatala and saw Chuckie.  Chuckie was angry because he was beating the witness harder. Chuckie was angry when he got letter. The witness was not able to see what happened to the four bodies. He just saw the head at the checkpoint.

During his meetings with prosecution, the witness saw a psychologist in Miami. He was having nightmares. The witness said neither gunshot nor missing finger were due to Chuckie. When the prosecution asked: “do you think about leaving?” the defenses objection to being a leading question was sustained.

RE-CROSS was asked by the defense and the judge asked the parties to approach the bench. No re-cross.

NEXT WITNESS – M.C. (female)

Born in Sierra Leone in 1977. Went to school then stopped when she got pregnant. She lived with her man’s family in Boa. Then went to Kenema and lived with mom and sister. She has one brother and three sisters. Previous witness J. was her twin sister’s husband. She met A.W. in Kenjima. In Voinjama she lived with her sister and her sister’s husband J. They left there when it was attacked. Met A.W. and J. at village. They took a ride with UN truck and spent night in Zorzor.

At the checkpoint they removed the men. The witness knew M.T. from Voinjama but she was not close to him. He was at bridge too. She heard gunfire. The truck took the women and children to camp. It was a longtime before she saw J. at BTC. He was in a cell with three other men.

Before the jury was brought in the defense wanted to clarify whether the motion to exclude prior inconsistent statements was denied as it pertained solely to one witness and not to all witnesses. The Judge indicated it was meant for the one witness.

The defense then resumed its cross examination of the witness from the previous week. The defense was able to have the witness admit that he was in Sweden now because of what he said happened in Liberia to him in 1999. The witness admitted that his wife, five children, and three brothers are also living with him in Sweden.

The defense characterized numerous escape attempts that the witness endured. The witness had escaped several cities, including Voinjama. He was taken to Gbatala and escaped twice. He was taken to Chuckie Taylor’s home and escaped death. He was taken to BTC and escaped death there as well. At the refugee camp he escaped death. And finally, the witness escaped Liberia to Sweden.

The witness stated that he had left Kenema to Liberia and had been stopped by security forces in Liberia and was pressured to become a fighter and go to Sierra Leone. He had stayed a week in that city, before the harassment escalated to a point where the witness had to escape.

In Kolahun, the witness was not harassed. There was a refugee camp there. The witness then went to Voinjama which is about a two hour walk to neighboring Guinea. The witness started a small business there using his own money to resell goods. It was in Voinjama that security forces again approached him. They offered 500 to a thousand dollars to sign a contract to be a mercenary. But despite that, the witness still claims they were forcefully removed to fight and that the soldiers were stealing from the refugees as well.

The witness indicated that he had not met Chuckie Taylor or David Kampari. He did not sit down with them. The defense then read the witnesses statements from Friday where the witness had said he was in a convoy with Chuckie Taylor and Campari. Yet now he says he didn’t see them. The prosecution objected as a mistake in prior testimony. It was overruled. The defense tried getting the witness to admit he knew who Campari and Chuckie Taylor were when he was in Voinjama.

The defense then asked the witness about his friend. Even though the witness had characterized his friend as being akin to family, the witness could not provide his last name. The witness was with his friend in Kolahun for several months. There was a refugee camp and it was safe there.

The witness then heard that there was going to be an attack in Voinjama. He went back with his friend to get his family that were still living in Voinjama. The witness’ wife did not want to go Kolahun but instead to Monrovia. So the witness in effect went deeper into Liberia.

When the defense asked “Don’t you think Chuckie Taylor would want to recruit more men?” considering the fighting in Voinjama, the prosecution objected as speculation. It was overruled. So the defense characterized the witness as still heading south even though the witness knew Chuckie Taylor was recruiting more soldiers. The witness was the head of his family yet he did what his wife told him. They decided not to go to Guinea, even though there was no war there. They did not go to Kolahun even though there was a refugee camp there.

The witness was given a ride in a truck convoy. The truck was owned by WFP or World Food Program, a non-governmental organization. Other NGO’s in the convoy included ICRC and Doctors Without Borders. So the witness fled the fighting in Voijama, heading south first to the city of Zorzor then Banu. The defense then showed an image of the St. Paul River Bridge. The checkpoint was on the south side of the bridge. The witness presented his UN refugee card to the soldiers, was questioned, and detained for more than two hours before Chuckie arrived. He was never asked to go to Sierra Leone.

The witnesses family was separated at the checkpoint. Chuckie was apparently shouting and flouting his gun. The defense then showed pictures of the checkpoint and some buildings next to the checkpoint.  The defense asked the witness what Chuckie had asked them, which basically was “are there any commanders or rebels among you?” Chuckie didn’t explain to the group what he meant by rebels or commanders and gave no evidence of the accusation that they were rebels. The defense asked why rebels would be fleeing south instead of to Guinea. The witness could not answer.

Four men were separated from the group and shot. One of these men was the witnesses friend. The defense then read a statement that there were actually three men shot not four. The witness stated he assumed this statement was wrong.  After the killing, Chuckie had ordered the bodies tied to a jeep and dragged away. This occurred on a road that with a good amount of traffic and NGO trucks traveling through. Three heads were placed at the checkpoint.

The witness was tied “tybeyed” which as the witness knew from his own country, was done in times of war. The witness was then thrown on a truck and taken to Bana. He was thrown into a cell with two other men who now are in Sweden as well. The witness was removed from Bana police station at night and taken to Gbatala. He was thrown into a hole filled with water and decomposing bodies. The witness did not know if the gate covering the hole had a lock but it did have bars.

That night, another prisoner had freed himself and then freed the witness. They escaped but after eight hours of fleeing, were recaptured near the place they had begun. The defense tried to get the witness to provide their escape plan. Didn’t they want to get as far away as possible? Why were they recaptured so close to the place they started from?

After morning break, the judge indicated that a witness’s son was sick and that trial would have to be postponed till the following day.

I entered the courtroom at 1:45 PM. A witness was on the stand in the process of being asked a series of questions by the prosecution, the US government. The witness recounted how he was beaten by soldiers in Liberia who were a part of the ATU(Anti-Terrorist Unit). The witness said he was taken to Chucky Taylor while tied with plastic cuffs. He said he was going to teach a lesson. Chucky said not to shoot one of the other captured men that was there with the witness and instead to use a knife. The ATU soldiers cut his head from back to front with a large knife over a bucket put in place to catch his blood. They cut his head off completely. Then the witness testified that he was taken back to a pit after being beaten more and still with his hands tied. He testified that when in the pit the soldiers would melt plastic and drop the hot melted plastic onto prisoners including himself. A former police officer helped him and two or three others to escape the prison by opening the gates. The man who released them could not walk as fast as the others because he had his ten toes cut off. The man was captured. The witness said that if he was caught again he would be killed so continued fleeing. But the witness was caught again. The ATU’s rushed him and the man with him named. They were stripped naked. Chucky Taylor was at the camp. The witness was stabbed in his left leg and beaten with guns and kicked. The witness said it was indescribably painful. He was told “Papey wants to see this man.” Papey is a Liberian nickname. The witness testified that Chucky Taylor melted plastic on his private parts and other areas. Then he was taken blindfolded and tied to Monrovia in a truck with three other men. He was taken to Charles Taylor’s compound. Charles Taylor took the cello tape of his mouth and asked questions. Mr. Taylor asked if they were rebels but they did not respond. Then they were taken to BTC (the Barclay military training center), and put into a cell. Later MP’s took the prisoners because they said they were rotting and smelled. They had to walk to the hospital which took hours to walk. W.O. Cooley argued with the soldiers and told them that the witness was not a rebel. At the hospital they put “ink” on the witness’s skin and took him back to a cell. He saw Caroline VanBuren, the protection officer at the UN. A man named Mulba asked to go into the cell to talk to prisoners. Mulba later returned with Caroline and Daniel Chea. It was the day he was freed. The three were taken to the Greystone clinic by Ambulance where he was treated by a Dr. Manseray. Then the witness was taken to the Samuca Refugee Camp in Monrovia with the same three men he had been imprisoned with. He received medical treatment and was in the intensive ward for months. His wife and daughter joined him at the refugee camp. The witness could not do anything for himself like shower or use the toilet. He was transported to Sweden with his family including brothers, wife and daughter. The flight to Sweden was organized by the Swedish government and UNHCR. He was given more medical treatment in Sweden as his condition was serious. A photo was shown to the jury of the witness at the UNHCR Refugee Clinic. The witness still has marks on his arms from where he says he was tied. The witness was asked to lift his shirt sleeves and walk around to show the jurors his scars. He also has marks/scars on his chest and shoulder from the melted plastic which were visible in the photo. Then the jurors were shown another picture of the witness. By merely looking at the photo it would be hard to tell how this photo of the witness with his daughter sitting on his raised thigh would come into play for the prosecution. It looked like a regular photo of a dad with child but the prosecution asked the witness why he took the picture with his daughter on his thigh. The response was that it was the only way he could somewhat hold her. Someone had to put his daughter onto his thigh and he used his arm to keep her from falling off but would not have been able to carry her otherwise due to lack of strength in his arms as a result of his detention and beatings. The picture was taken after seven months in the refugee camp and he still could not carry his daughter. The federal prosecutor then asked the witness to point to the man who shot his friend and the witness pointed to the defendant Chucky Taylor.