As the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor continued in The Hague yesterday, anyone watching the live streaming might have noticed a young Maltese lawyer sitting with the prosecution team.
James Pace, 25, is on the prosecution team as a consultant.
The court was set up jointly by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law committed in the territory of Sierra Leone since November 30, 1996.
The closing arguments in the high profile trial were made yesterday. This is the final stage before the judges retire to consider their judgment. Mr Taylor, 62, has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly arming Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels who killed and maimed Sierra Leone citizens.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell testified in the trial about diamonds she had been given as a gift by Mr Taylor in 1997. She said she was presented with a pouch that contained “dirty looking stones”.
The Sierra Leone civil war claimed some 120,000 lives in the 10 years to 2001, with RUF rebels, whom prosecutors described as Mr Taylor’s “surrogate army”, mutilating thousands of civilians by hacking off their limbs.
Mr Taylor’s trial, the first for an African head of state in an international tribunal, started in earnest in January 2008. It is expected to end some time in the middle of the year.