Charles Taylor lawyer brands war crimes case 'colonialism'

In his closing statement, Courtenay Griffiths sought to take apart the prosecution case against Taylor, charging that the trial of the once-powerful West African leader was "politically motivated" to ensure he did not return to power in Liberia.

Taylor, the first African head of state put on trial at an international tribunal, has pleaded not guilty to 11 war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He is accused of arming and supporting murderous rebels in Sierra Leone's civil war in exchange for that country's rich natural resources, and specifically charged with murder, rape, sexual enslavement and recruiting child soldiers.

Sometimes mocking the prosecution's evidence, Mr Griffiths told judges that if they looked at the case in an "independent, reasonable, unemotional way, there can only be one verdict on all these counts and that is … not guilty."

He urged judges not to be swayed by public perceptions of Taylor as a warlord. "A criminal trial is not a beauty contest," Griffiths said. "We are not asking this court to like Charles Taylor."

Verdicts are expected later this year.

Atrocities committed during the 1991-2002 war were reviewed in painful detail during the lengthy trial by the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone. But Mr Griffiths said the prosecutors had failed to prove that Taylor was responsible for those incidents.

"It is to the shame of this prosecution that it has besmirched the lofty ideals of international criminal law by turning this case into a 21st-century case of neo-colonialism," he said.

Prosecutor Nicholas Koumjian said Taylor maintained a "proxy army" in Sierra Leone in the rebel group Revolutionary United Front, or RUF, which is accused of many of the worst brutalities in the civil war.

Mr Koumjian said Taylor armed and directed the rebels and profited "from the wars and the crimes they committed".

Prosecutors allege Taylor's support was repaid by the rebels in "blood diamonds", mined by slave labourers.

The defence presentation was sensationally interrupted by the court's decision last year to subpoena supermodel Naomi Campbell to testify about claims Taylor gave her rough diamonds at a 1997 party at Nelson Mandela's presidential mansion in South Africa.