Bid to delay Campbell evidence
03/08/2010
An urgent motion has been filed in a bid to delay supermodel Naomi Campbell giving evidence in the case against former Liberian President Charles Taylor.
A spokesman for the Special Court of Sierra Leone said the measure was taken by Taylor's defence team because it had not been given a summary of Campbell's testimony before her court appearance.
The 40-year-old supermodel from Streatham, south London, is due to appear in court in The Hague on Thursday. She will give evidence over allegations that after a party hosted by Nelson Mandela in South Africa in 1997, former warlord Taylor gave her a rough diamond.
A decision on the motion for a "stay of testimony" is not expected until midday on Wednesday. Campbell's evidence has already been delayed once and she initially refused to participate in the trial.
She has enlisted the services of Lord Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, who last week filed a motion for "protective measures". The application for the measures, which are usually reserved for witnesses at risk of revenge attacks, reportedly requests members of the public and media not to follow, photograph or video the model on her way to and from the court.
Documents handed to the court state that the judge may "order appropriate measures to safeguard the privacy and security of victims and witnesses".
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