The United States faces its first test of a 1994 law that makes it a crime for U.S. citizens to commit torture or war crimes overseas. A Miami federal court opened the case of the son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, Charles “Chuckie” McArthur Emmanuel, indicted on eight counts of torture and killing from 1999 to 2002 when he lead an anti-terrorist unit called the Demon Forces in Liberia. Language and cultural barriers, third world conditions, and outright fear of retribution cause many of the difficulties of efficiently progressing with the trial.
“It will take a generation for Sierra Leone and Liberia to recover from the horrors that Charles Taylor and his henchmen, including Chuckie, have wrought on their fellow man,” said David Crane, a former chief prosecutor for the United Nations Special Court for Sierra Leone. The eight-count indictment alleges Emmanuel ordered the shooting death of three people at a checkpoint in April 1999 and told units under his control to slit the throat of another person who attempted to escape. Torture allegations levied against Emmanuel include branding, assault and the use of biting ants. As head of the Demon Forces, Emmanuel was charged with the elimination of Taylor's opponents by whatever methods necessary. “He had a reputation for mindless evil who enjoyed personally torturing individuals,” Crane said.
Prosecutors in the case traveled to Liberia and neighboring African countries to locate several witnesses of the alleged war crimes. U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga agreed to delay the trial to April next year to allow prosecutors to gather the necessary information to proceed. “The government does not want to prevent the defense from completing a thorough and professional investigation,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Rochlin. “We don't want to be unreasonable.”
Officials arrested Emmanuel in March 2006 at Miami International Airport for giving false information regarding his father's identity on his application to a U.S. passport. Charles Taylor faces prosecution at the war crimes tribunal at the Hague for various atrocities committees during his presidency. Crane said the prosecutions are important to reconciliation efforts in effected African nations as governments there attempt to recover from years of war.
“It sends a message to all Africans that their lives matter and that those who choose to commit acts of atrocity will be held accountable,” Crane said.
