Case studies


Mariama Khai Fornah*




"From FREETOUW to The HlGUE:


my coverage of Charles Taylor's trial"


T he on-going trial of the former
 President of Liberia Charles Taylor
 has captured the attention of
 almost everyone in Sierra Leone
and Liberia. The trial held by the Special
Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) is based at
the International Criminal Court (ICC) in
The Hague, the Netherlands.The war began
in Sierra Leone in March 1991 when the
Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone
(RUF) launched its first campaign into Eastern
Kailahun (Sierra Leone) from Liberia. Before
the outbreak of war, corruption and misman-
agement in the diamond sector was one of
the main reasons why Sierra Leone became,
according to United Nations' (UN) figures, the
poorest country in the world.
The RUF rebels demonstrated their brutality
by decapitating community leaders and putting
their heads on sticks. They were notorious for


committing atrocities such as raping of women
and girls, amputation of arms and legs of civil-
ians, the enlisting of child combatants and the
burning and looting of houses.
After this decade-long war, Sierra Leone
asked for the world to help them bring to
justice those people who are alleged to bear
the greatest responsibility for crimes that were
committed.
The Special Court was created and indicted
Liberia's former President Charles Taylor on
eleven counts of crimes against humanity, war
crimes, and serious violations of international
humanitarian law. He is facing trial for aiding
and abating the Revolutionary United Front
(RUF) by giving them support in terms of
arms and ammunition during the long decade
war in Sierra Leone. In April 2006, Charles
Taylor was arrested and his trial began in 2007
in The Hague.


As a Sierra Leonean journalist, it's my job to
cover the trial each day, and keep audiences in
West Africa informed about what's happening
in the court room.
I work with a journalist from Liberia, and
we are the only journalists in the world who
are reporting on the trial from the court room
and producing daily stories for audiences in
both Liberia and Sierra Leone. This puts a lot
of responsibility and pressure on us, but for
me, it's this sense of responsibility which has
helped me to grow and develop professionally,
and become better at what I do.
This is the first time I have left Africa to live
and work in Europe. The Netherlands is a very
interesting country, where people really take
pride in their homes and environment, which is
so clean and organised. For now my next chal-
lenge will be getting through a cold winter as
I'm used to hot December months back home!