Special Court update

Two somewhat noteworthy Special Court for Sierra Leone updates from the past few days (hat tip to the Trial of Charles Taylor Blog for all of this):

1.  The Special Court Appeals Chamber upheld the sentences for the three former RUF guys: Issa Sesay, Morris Kalon, and Augustine Gbao.  The Appeals Chamber upheld their convictions for all of the counts for war crimes and crimes against humanity, with this exception:

…it overturned the Trial Chamber’s conviction for the 14th count of collective punishments, and also found him not guilty of one of two attacks on UN peacekeepers, for which he had also been convicted by the Trial Chamber.

2.  Taylor’s trial started up again on Monday.  (The chamber took a recess for most of October because they had decided to skip a summer recess earlier this year so that the defense phase of the trial could get started.)  Taylor is still testifying, and–get this–his lawyer says he will not finish testifying until the start of 2010.  (I don’t know if this includes the cross-examination.)

It is starting to seem a bit ridiculous that Taylor is being permitted to testify without being subject to a cross-examination for so long.

Hat tip to The Trial of Charles Taylor Blog for all of this.