Taylor Pleads Innocent Before U.N. Trial

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor on Monday pleaded innocent to war crimes at a U.N. special court in Sierra Leone.

Taylor, 58, at first refused to enter a plea, saying he did not recognize the authority of the court but finally did at the urging of his public defenders, the BBC said.

He is charged with backing Revolutionary United Front rebels in Sierra Leone’s 1991-2002 civil war, and the charges include murder, rape, sexual slavery, physical violence and cruel treatment, recruiting child soldiers and terrorizing the civilian population.

While Taylor was in neighboring Liberia when the events were taking place, the prosecution claims Taylor provided the rebels with training, money, arms and ammunition to start his rebellion in Sierra Leone and even lent him fighters to take part in the initial attack.

The U.N. Security Council is considering a resolution to move Taylor’s trial from Freetown to The Hague in the Netherlands to avoid reigniting conflict in Sierra Leone and Liberia.