The Swiss-based organization, Civitas Maxima, has sharply reacted to statements emanating from Dr. Agnes Taylor, former spouse of Liberia’s ex-President and former warlord, Charles Taylor, in which she strongly debunked the allegations levied against her, terming them as “mere lies”.
A release issued by the organization quotes it as saying that it takes serious exception to Taylor’s assertions at a press conference Monday, July 27, 2020, during which she elaborated in great detail about her incarceration and the torture case against her in the United Kingdom.
Taylor, who arrived into the country shortly after being released from detention in the UK, iterated that the purpose of the press conference was to “set the record straight” regarding the alleged “misinformation and lies” spread about her.
These alleged “misinformation and lies”, the organization noted, include the evidence from direct victims and witnesses of her alleged crimes considered by a criminal court in the UK as “prima facie” (legally sufficient) evidence to support the charges against her.
The organization, which has been working in association with the Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP) to facilitate the documentation of international crimes and pursues the redress of such crimes on behalf of victims who do not have access to justice, has taken Dr. Agnes Reeves-Taylor to task over her outright condemnation of the group’s effort in pursuit of alleged perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the heat of the Liberian civil upheavals.
Civitas, however, averred that because Taylor ultimately did not face trial in the UK, the evidence against her was not tested in a court of law. “We at Civitas Maxima and the Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP) are appalled and very concerned about the apparent public campaign Ms. Reeves Taylor is waging against the individuals and organizations who assisted the UK authorities in their investigation. Threats and intimidation of witnesses, victims, and human rights defenders is a hallmark of dictatorship, not of democracies like Liberia. We unequivocally condemn Ms. Taylor’s statements repeatedly naming and targeting the individuals and organizations working tirelessly for justice in Liberia,” the group lamented.
Meanwhile, the statement from Dr. Taylor has received mixed reactions from the public domain, with some defending her stance while others condemned her for her alleged participation in war crimes against innocent victims.