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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 FREETOWN 000484 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, S/WCI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2016 
TAGS: PREL KAWC SL NL
SUBJECT: SPECIAL COURT WANTS MORE MONEY, SUPPORT 
 
REF: FREETOWN 360 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Thomas N. Hull, reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (C) On June 9, visiting AF/W Director Phillip Carter and 
PolOff met separately with three principal officials at the 
Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL): Registrar Lovemore 
Munlo, Acting Chief Prosecutor Christopher Staker, and 
Principal Defender Vincent Nmehielle.  There appeared to be 
consensus on the Court's completion calendar, with Munlo and 
Staker agreeing that CDF and AFRC trials could be finished by 
the end of 2006 and that the Charles Taylor case could be 
done within a year from its start.  The RUF trial is moving 
more slowly and is still in the prosecution phase, which may 
end by August.  Staker had glowing reviews of Charles 
Taylor's current defense counsel, Karim Khan.  Munlo and the 
Chief Security Officer said that they feel comfortable with 
the security of the Court for now.  Munlo said that it would 
be up to the Management Committee and the UN to determine 
whether a new trial chamber should be convened for the Taylor 
trial.  Munlo also said that he needs our support in 
arranging for detainee medical care abroad.  Nmehielle said 
that the Principal Defender's office is unable to provide the 
support necessary for defense attorneys to provide a basic 
defense for indictees, but that the SCSL is light years ahead 
of other international tribunals in protecting the rights of 
the accused.  Munlo does not appear to be a strong leader, as 
was his predecessor, and future budgets may warrant extra 
scrutiny of defense-related expenditures to ensure adequate 
support is being provided to the defense.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Completion Calendar for CDF, AFRC, RUF 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Munlo said that the three ongoing cases are moving 
along well and that earlier, falsely optimistic estimates of 
the Court's completion were based on flaws in the operational 
strategy ("We were not following our own rules," Munlo 
said.).  For example, the defense phase of the CDF trial 
started later than expected, Munlo said, because no one took 
into account the time necessary for the defense motion of "no 
case to answer."  (i.e., three weeks for the defense, three 
weeks for the prosecution, one week for defense rebuttal, 
four to five month judicial review.) 
 
¶3. (U) The CDF defense phase, Munlo said, should be completed 
by December, as should the AFRC defense.  The CDF judges are 
now working on the ruling of the Defense request to subpoena 
President Kabbah.  (Note: Staker calculated optimistically 
that CDF and AFRC defense phase could finish in October, 
closing arguments would be over by the end of the year, 
judges' decisions would be available three months later, and 
then the existing staff could redeploy to the Charles Taylor 
case.  End Note.) 
 
¶4. (U) Munlo said that the RUF prosecution phase, which 
started in the summer of 2004, he hopes will be complete by 
August.  The RUF defense phase, then, would start next year. 
(Note: The RUF and CDF cases share a courtroom and have to 
alternate.  The AFRC case has its own courtroom and is moving 
much faster.  End Note.) 
 
¶5. (U) The Appeals Chamber, Munlo said, should take less than 
six months per case for a total of 18 months.  Although the 
Management Committee has said the projection for the appeals 
timeline is too long, Munlo said that it is important to 
remember the non-negotiable timelines written into the 
Court's rules (i.e., 14 days are allowed to appeal a case, 
three weeks are allowed to present grounds for appeal, etc.). 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Taylor Trial: Back-of-the-Envelope Budget, 
Timing, Security, New Trial Chamber? 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (C) Staker had glowing reviews of Charles Taylor's current 
defense counsel, Karim Khan.  "Khan is eminently reasonable," 
he said, especially since he is filing no preliminary motions 
in the case (which can save approximately seven months) and 
it also appears that he is willing to stipulate the facts of 
the conflict itself. (Note: It has taken a good deal of time 
in the other cases to establish that certain atrocities took 
 
FREETOWN 00000484  002 OF 003 
 
 
place.  Khan's strategy, it appears, will not be to argue 
these facts: rather, he will argue that Taylor had no 
connection to them.  Khan's provisional contract ends on July 
¶4.  If he is still deemed to be indigent (the Court has not 
yet been able to find Taylor's assets), Taylor will get to 
choose his defense team from a list of attorneys presented to 
him by the Office of the Principle Defender.  End Note.) 
 
¶7. (U) Both Munlo and Staker said that if Taylor's defense is 
willing to stipulate to the facts of the case, the Taylor 
case could be finished within one year.  Munlo said that his 
initial back-of-the-envelope calculation for the Taylor trial 
in The Hague is approximately $23 million. 
 
¶8. (C) Munlo and SCSL Chief of Security Joe Poraj-Wilczynski 
said that they feel comfortable with the security of the 
Court for now.  Although it looks easy in the movies, 
Poraj-Wilczynski said, it would be extremely difficult for 
Taylor supporters to penetrate the Mongolian-guarded complex. 
 "If the Nigerians were still guarding the Court, it would be 
another story," Poraj-Wilczynski said.  Asked whether there 
were any indications that Taylor supporters were planning any 
disruption, Poraj-Wilczynski mentioned that they were 
monitoring Taylor's supporters in country.  He also mentioned 
Amcit Michael Chemidlin's recent photographs of the Court 
complex (for which he is still facing charges, see reftel), 
but then dismissed the issue.  "We think that they took those 
pictures hoping they could sell them to someone," 
Poraj-Wilczynski said. (Comment: Given Chemidlin's travel 
plans and connections with dubious "church" officials, we are 
not so sure about that, but we have no other evidence to 
offer.  End Comment.) 
 
¶9. (U) As for convening a new trial chamber, Munlo said that 
it would be up to the Management Committee and the UN Office 
of the Legal Advisor.  Staker added that convening a third 
trial chamber would also require an amendment to the 
statutory agreement between the UN and the Government of 
Sierra Leone and that the UN Secretary General and the GoSL 
would each get to nominate candidates.  Names of potential 
candidates are already being floated, and Staker mentioned a 
few: Gabrielle Kirk-McDonald (Former ICTY president), David 
Hunt (ICTR), and Florence Mumba (ICTY, ICTR Appeals Chamber). 
 Staker said that if a new tribunal is to be convened for the 
Taylor case, then it would be crucial to choose judges who 
have experience in overseeing war crimes cases, since it 
takes them a while to "get on their feet" (i.e., move the 
judicial process along and not grant too much leeway to the 
defense.) 
 
----------------------- 
Medical Care in Senegal 
for Norman, Sesay 
----------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) Munlo said that he is particularly concerned about 
the medical needs of two indictees.  Hinga Norman, he said, 
needs hip replacement surgery and Issa Sesay has a bullet 
lodged in his hip.  Although neither has a life-threatening 
condition, permanent damage could result if the conditions 
are left untreated.  (Note: Norman's tests for prostrate 
cancer came back negative, but he could break his hip because 
of his current condition.  Sesay's bullet wound has caused a 
crack along the bone.  End Note.) 
 
¶11. (U) Neither detainee can receive appropriate medical care 
in Sierra Leone, Munlo said, and consulations with other 
nations in the region (Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal) have been 
unsuccessful.  The best hope for a solution is with the 
Government of Senegal, which is willing to take the detainees 
but is not willing to sign an agreement stipulating, among 
other things, that the detainees would not be allowed to 
request asylum.  The Government of Canada is currently 
negotiating with the Senegalese, but Munlo requested U.S. 
assistance in helping to close the deal.  (Comment: Carter 
was noncommittal.  End Comment.)  Munlo is worried about 
public opinion, especially since many believe that Norman is 
wrongfully incarcerated. 
 
---------------------------- 
Principal Defender's Office: 
The Bureaucratic Underdog 
---------------------------- 
 
¶12. (U) The Principal Defender's Office is unable to provide 
the support necessary to provide a basic defense, Nmehielle 
said, and defense teams are starting to file motions to that 
 
FREETOWN 00000484  003 OF 003 
 
 
effect.  While investigators for the prosecution conduct both 
local and international investigations, Nmehielle has trouble 
securing even one vehicle for transportation upcountry to 
visit former fighting bases, Nmehielle said.  One of the most 
basic problems, he said, is bureaucratic.  Unlike the 
Prosecutor's Office, which is independent, the Principal 
Defender's Office is subordinate to the Office of the 
Registrar.  "When we submit a request for funding," Nmehielle 
said, "the budget staff will say, 'You don't need that.'" 
One of the problems is that the budget staff sees the accused 
as already guilty, which negatively affects the quality of 
service to the Defense. 
 
¶13. (U) When making up the draft staffing list for Taylor's 
trial in the Hague, it was the same thing.  Nmehielle asked 
for a staff of three: duty counsel, legal advisor, and a 
support staffer.  The prosecution has more than that, he 
said, and he was still told that he needed to pare down the 
request to include only a legal advisor. 
 
¶14. (U) On the bright side, Nmehielle said, the SCSL is light 
years ahead of other international tribunals when it comes to 
defending the rights of the accused.  In convening future 
tribunals, however, creating an independent office of the 
defense will be an important point. 
 
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Comment 
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¶15. (C) The new Registrar appears to be feeling more 
comfortable with his new job, but his comments regarding 
budgets, timetables and Hinga Norman's medical needs make him 
appear to be more observer and reporter than driver.  Charles 
Taylor's upcoming trial will represent a significant new 
budget requirement is only beginning to be calculated, since 
the $23 million is only a rough estimate.  Funding to support 
the Defense may merit particular scrutiny to ensure 
sufficient support and avoid possible grounds for appeal. 
End Comment. 
 
¶16. (U) AF/W Director Carter did not have an opportunity to 
clear this cable before departing Post. 
HULL