Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is on trial for war crimes committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War. Charges include murder, rape, torture and using children as soldiers. During the trial a witness testified that Taylor ordered his soldiers to eat their slained enemies, a questionable technique used to scare enemies. The witness Joseph "Zigzag" Marzah, former chief of operations, also testified that Taylor casually ate a human liver. Charles Taylor denies being a cannibal and ordering soldiers to eat slained enemies and pleads innocent to the war crime charges. The court has yet to make its decision.
Link to the original article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/05/19/taylor.trial.ap/index.html
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Interesting find, Carlo. I was just wondering if cannibalism, as disgusting it is, is considered a "war crime."
Yes, forcing Liberian soldiers to eat their slained enemies would pretty much fit the definition of "war crime" and cannibalism.
The sad thing is that I am not as surprised as I should be by this finding. This man, if he can be called that, is probably going to be found guilty of these war crimes. And a man found guilty, or even suspected, of war crimes is most likely twisted enough to eat a human.
I'm surpised the prosecutors had that witness say that. Even if true, those allegations are a bit "out there", and it will certainly give the defense an opportunity to attack his credibility.
I think the use of children as soilders should be enough to condem him. The cannibalism should just be something additional to his charges. Untill they have solid proof on his "tactics" then they should focus more on what they know for sure.
this is so disturbing. Just the fact that people are hinting that he committed these crimes is sickening enough. If it is proven that he has done any of this, they should be considered war crimes
I'm not sure that this cannibalism is actually a war crime. True, it is disgusting and morally wrong in the eyes of almost the entire world, but I don't think that it breaches any laws of war. Nevertheless, its gruesome. I'm surprised that those soldiers actually followed his command and ate human remains. Of course, all the other charges such as rape, murder, torture, and using children as soldiers DO violate the laws of war and those alone are enough to convict him
That is pretty disgusting and in every way wrong, but I'm not sure that cannibalism is a war crime.
As i feel that cannabilism isnt a form of a war crime, the other things that this man did is horrible. I hope that he is convicted of all of these accounts and punished to the fullest.
WOw. I don't know what to say. I still think it is kinda ironic about the idea of War crimes. Its weird how u can break the rules of killing people!
Watch the movie "Blood Diamond" to get a better idea of how sick the Sierra Leone Conflict was. Both sides committed terrible war crimes of all kinds and when your desperate you'll do anything to gain an advantage.
First of all, has the cannibalism thing been proved yet? It could be some people lying to get back at him for some reason. Though, it does sound a bit outlandish. I don't know why someone might lie about cannibalism, but it could be possible.
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