Former Liberian Leader Charles Taylor Ends Boycott of War Crimes Trial

The former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who is accused of war crimes, today appeared at a UN special court for the first time after previously boycotting the trial.

Mr Taylor, looking calm in a dark suit and pale tie, spoke only to re-enter a not guilty plea to a count of sexual slavery, which had been slightly reworded in an amended indictment.

"I think he has got the message that he cannot gain anything by absenting himself and that he gains from being present," the prosecutor, Stephen Rapp, told the Reuters agency from Sierra Leone.

Mr Taylor had earlier pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, in connection with the 1991-2002 civil war in Sierra Leone. An estimated 50,000 people died and thousands more had limbs hacked off as rebels mounted a reign of terror.

Mr Taylor sacked his lawyer when his trial opened in June before the UN-backed court of Sierra Leonean judges in The Hague. At first he said he wanted to defend himself, but is now demanding a top lawyer.

Prosecutors plan to call dozens of witnesses they say will directly link Mr Taylor to the Sierra Leone rebels. They claim he shipped rebels arms, ammunition and supplies such as alcohol and drugs used to intoxicate children who were then forced to fight. In return he received diamonds, often mined by slave labourers, it is alleged.

He is suspected of similar atrocities in his native Liberia, but that country is holding a truth and reconciliation commission instead of a war crimes tribunal.

Mr Taylor is being tried in the Hague because of fears the trial would have triggered fresh unrest in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, where the court is normally based.

At the start of his trial, Mr Taylor announced in a letter to the three-judge panel that he had fired his attorney. He demanded a more senior trial attorney, arguing that prosecutors had far more lawyers on their team.

Mr Rapp dismissed Mr Taylor's concerns as administrative issues "blown out of proportion in order to create a reason for what we view as obstructive conduct in this case". He said Mr Taylor was getting more money for his defence - up to $2m (£1m) for the trial - than any other suspect charged by the court.