Charles Taylor Takes the Stand

Former Liberian president Charles Taylor took the stand in his own defense at the Hague on Tuesday.

“This whole case against me is a case of deceit, deception and lies,” he told the Special Court for Sierra Leone sitting at The Hague.

It was his first time in the stand. Mr. Taylor — the first African leader to be tried for war crimes — said he had “fought all my life to do what I thought was right,” news reports said.

He called the prosecution’s depiction of him “malicious.”

Wearing a dark suit and dark glasses, he introduced himself to the three judges as the 21st president of the Republic of Liberia.