PREVIEW-High stakes for Africa at trial of warlord Taylor

By Alexandra Hudson

THE HAGUE, May 31 (Reuters) - Former Liberian President Charles Taylor goes on trial next week charged with instigating murder, rape and terrorism during Sierra Leone's civil war in a case prosecutors say could end impunity for African strongmen.

Taylor, once one of Africa's most feared warlords, faces 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, including recruiting child soldiers during the 1991-2002 conflict.

The 59-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

He was a driving force behind intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone which killed more than a quarter of a million people and shocked the world with stories and images of child soldiers high on drugs, killing, raping and looting.

"Charles Taylor caused the biggest atrocities in this war. I support the trial because then other people will fear to do the same," said Freetown trader Mohamed Kolokah, 28, whose business partner was killed by rebels supported by Taylor.

The trial starts in The Hague on Monday. Prosecutors state in the indictment that Taylor sought to gain control of Sierra Leone's mineral wealth, particularly its diamond mines, and destabilise the Freetown government, to boost his own influence throughout West Africa.

In Sierra Leone, a generation of amputees -- civilians whose hands or legs were hacked off by rebels -- serve as a reminder of the cruelty of the conflict.

"This trial is a crucial moment in signalling a break from the past in which impunity has all too often prevailed," said Elise Keppler of campaign group Human Rights Watch.

"Taylor's trial sends a signal that no-one is above the law when it comes to the most serious crimes ... the stakes are very high. This puts would-be perpetrators on the alert."

In the past, ousted African dictators have often fled overseas to live out their days unpunished. Taylor found exile in Nigeria after being overthrown in 2003, but was later handed to the court under international pressure.



FOCUSED TRIAL

The court indicted Taylor in March 2003 on 17 counts of war crimes but condensed the charges for a more focused trial, hoping to avoid the disappointment felt after former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic died just months before a verdict was due in a trial which lasted more than four years.

The court's prosecutor, Stephen Rapp, has said he expects Taylor's trial to be concluded in about 18 months. The defence is expected to present its case by early next year.

Britain has said it will jail Taylor, who faces a hefty sentence, if he is convicted.

Taylor was moved to The Hague because of fears a trial in Freetown could spur unrest in Sierra Leone or Liberia. The trial is held in the premises of the International Criminal Court.

"Everybody knows that Charles Taylor could make trouble again in Sierra Leone and it would be dangerous to try him here," said Kolokah in Freetown.

The prosecution plans to present evidence from 139 key witnesses, both victims of attacks and insiders.

The indictment, which concentrates on abuses between 1996 and 2002, catalogues the horrific practices of Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels. Taylor is accused of backing them.

"Civilians were shot, burned in their homes, hacked to death, and killed either while trying to escape from attacks on their homes or from their captors. Some victims died as a result of the sexual or physical violence to which they were subjected, while others died in the performance of forced labour."

"From the beginning of and throughout the conflict in Sierra Leone, the accused provided the RUF with assistance, encouragement and direction," the indictment states.

(Additional reporting by Katrina Manson in Freetown)