Taylor to testify at Hague trial

Taylor to testify at Hague trial

Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, is to take the stand for the first time at his war crimes trial in The Hague.

He denies 11 charges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, including terrorism, murder, rape¹ and torture（拷问，苦闷）.

He is expected to argue that he could not have micro-managed a rebel operation in Sierra Leone, while also running affairs of state in Liberia.

Mr Taylor is the first African leader to be tried by an international court.

His testimony（证言，证据） is expected to last several weeks.

Claire Carlton-Hanciles, of the court's defence office, told the BBC on Monday that Mr Taylor was ready to defend himself and had been prepared for the past six weeks by defence lawyers.

The defence for Mr Taylor, 61, began on Monday. His lawyer Courtenay Griffiths told the court that Mr Taylor had tried to broker（经纪人） peace in Sierra Leone.

"We do not take issue with the fact that terrible atrocities² occurred in Sierra Leone," he said.

"This case should not be about what happened in Sierra Leone, but who bears the greatest responsibility, bearing in mind that Charles Taylor tried to achieve peace."

Mr Griffiths added that the prosecution³'s case was based on unsubstantiated （无确实根据的）rumour（谣言，传闻） and hearsay⁴, and that Mr Taylor now wanted to put the record straight.

Mr Taylor has sat in the courtroom,（法庭，审判室） housed in the International Criminal Court building in The Hague, for months, occasionally passing notes to his counsel and holding whispered conversations with him.

In May, judges rejected a request by Mr Taylor's defence team to acquit⁵ him because of a lack of evidence.

The prosecution says Mr Taylor planned atrocities(暴行) committed by Revolutionary United Front rebels during Sierra Leone's civil war, which ended in 2002.

The RUF was notorious for using machetes to hack⁶ the limbs off civilians⁷. Some of the prosecution's 91 witnesses gesticulated（打手势） in court with amputated limbs - their hands had been chopped off by rebel soldiers.

Mr Taylor is accused of passing guns to the RUF in exchange for diamonds from Sierra Leone.

But his defence claims that Mr Taylor did not command RUF rebels in Sierra Leone, sell them weapons in exchange for blood diamonds or recruit （恢复，补充）child soldiers.

Mr Taylor started a civil war in Liberia 1989, before being elected president there in 1997.

After a period of exile in Nigeria, he was eventually extradited from Liberia in 2006.

The trial, being held by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, was moved to the Netherlands from Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, amid fears it could create instability in the country and neighbouring Liberia. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

2 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

4 hearsay   

n.谣传，风闻

参考例句：

• They started to piece the story together from hearsay.他们开始根据传闻把事情的经过一点点拼湊起来。
• You are only supposing this on hearsay.You have no proof.你只是根据传闻想像而已，并没有证据。

5 acquit   

vt.宣判无罪；(oneself)使(自己)表现出

参考例句：

• That fact decided the judge to acquit him.那个事实使法官判他无罪。
• They always acquit themselves of their duty very well.他们总是很好地履行自己的职责。

6 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。