Special Court for Sierra Leone holds talks in Liberia about Charles Taylor

A delegation from the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) has completed a mission to neighbouring Liberia, holding talks with Government leaders there and conducting a public information campaign about its work.

SCSL Registrar Robin Vincent, who headed the delegation, met the Chairman of the country's National Transitional Government, Gyude Bryant, in the capital, Monrovia, to discuss the situation surrounding former Liberian President Charles Taylor.

A spokesperson for the UN said Mr. Bryant offered his full support in bringing Mr. Taylor to justice in Freetown, where the SCSL is located.

Currently in exile in Nigeria, Mr. Taylor faces a 17-count indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 14-year conflict in Sierra Leone.

The charges include terrorizing the civilian population, unlawful killings, sexual violence, physical violence, forced conscription of child soldiers, abductions, forced labour, looting and burning, and attacks on UN peacekeeping personnel.

The SCSL, set up in 2002 under an agreement between Sierra Leone and the UN, was mandated to try those responsible for the worst atrocities in the country after 30 November 1996.