The Hague
The war crimes trial of former Liberian strongman Charles Taylor was halted before it could even start this week, when Taylor claimed he could not afford a lawyer. Taylor, who is charged with arming rebels who killed and mutilated hundreds of thousands of civilians in Sierra Leone in the 1990s, said he is in a state of “partial indigence.” A United Nations report, though, found that Taylor has access to several million dollars of the nearly half-billion-dollar fortune he amassed during his reign. He also refused the court’s proposal to give him $50,000 a month for his defense. “What’s been offered to Taylor, presuming he’s indigent, which we doubt, is very adequate,” said prosecutor Stephen Rapp.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The controversy over rewilding in the UKThe Explainer 'Irresponsible and illegal' release of four lynxes into Scottish Highlands 'entirely counterproductive' say conservationists
-
How to decide on the right student loan repayment planThe explainer President-elect Donald Trump seems unlikely to approve more student loan forgiveness, so you may want to consider other options
-
Sudoku medium: January 15, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
