The trial against Liberia’s ex-President Charles Taylor, accused of arming Sierra Leone rebels in exchange for “blood diamonds,” entered its final phase with closing arguments by his lawyers. The trial, the first-ever trial of an African head of state before an international tribunal, is being held at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague. It has already lasted three years and includes almost 50,000 pages of transcript.
Taylor, 62, has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly arming Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels who killed and maimed with impunity.
As reported by Agence France-Presse, Prosecutor Brenda Hollis has described Taylor as an “intelligent, charismatic manipulator” driven by greed and power lust, charges that have been dismissed by Taylor as “lies.”
The trial had been moved from Freetown, where the court is based, due to fears that Taylor’s presence in the African country could destabilize the region. It was to have started in June 2007, but was delayed when Taylor boycotted its opening.*
Judge Sentences Fifth Graff Diamond Robber
The Evening Standard reported that Craig Calderwood, 28, was sentenced to 16 years in jail for his part in the Graff diamond heist on August 2, 2009, when armed robbers stole $60 million (GBP 40 million) of diamonds in Britain’s largest gems raid.
Dressed in suits and wearing theatrical makeup, Calderwood and Aman Kassaye, took just two minutes to grab 43 pieces of jewelry, including a multicolored necklace worth $6 million from Graff’s Mayfair store. The jewels have not been recovered, despite a $1.6 million (GBP 1 million) reward for information.
A store employee was held hostage at gunpoint as the robbers escaped, but was later released. The jewels were handed to a motorcyclist who remains at large, as does the mastermind. The robbers made “the fatal error” of leaving a carryall containing a loaded shotgun and a mobile phone with their numbers in the abandoned getaway car.
Calderwood was the fifth person to be sentenced. At a trial held in 2010, Kassaye, 25, was found guilty of conspiracy to rob, possession of a firearm and kidnapping. He was sentenced to 23 years. Three others received 16 years: Soloman Beyene, 26, Clinton Mogg, 43, and Thomas Thomas, 46. The jury had been unable to reach a verdict on Calderwood at the time. The gang had also tried to mount a defense, saying the robbery had been an “inside job,” so Graff could make a fraudulent insurance claim.*
Police Locate $25 Million in Stolen Gems Outside of Paris
Investigators in Paris have found jewels valued at $25 million (EUR 18 million) hidden in a suburban rain sewer — part of the 2008 heist from luxury jeweler Harry Winston’s Paris boutique on the Champs-Elysées. According to the Associated Press, the robbery was “one of the most audacious in France in recent memory.”
Nineteen rings and three sets of earrings — one pair of which was valued at $19.5 million — were found in the suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis on the property of one of the nine people charged in the heist.
The bold Harry Winston robbery on December 5, 2008 netted the thieves — some dressed as women wearing wigs — gems and jeweled watches worth up to $118.1 million, police said. More recently, police have set the figure at $85 million.
Some stolen rings, necklaces and watches were recovered by the police in June 2009. –*Additional reporting provided by Acquire Media.
Judge Finds Dealers Guilty in Heist
Two New York diamond dealers, Mahaveer Kankariya and Atul Shah, were convicted of staging a phony diamond heist at their own place of business with the intent of claiming $7 million in insurance. Lawyers for the dealers had argued that the New Year’s Eve 2008 diamond heist at Dialite Imports was a real robbery. However, prosecutors uncovered surveillance video of Shah and Kankariya removing goods from the office safe and placing empty boxes inside before the fake gunmen arrived.
The judge determined that the entire robbery “looks like a joke.” Sentencing had yet to be determined at press time.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2011. To subscribe click here.