Trial is an inconvenience: Campbell
05/08/2010
Naomi Campbell has told a war crimes trial that giving evidence is an "inconvenience" and will affect her family's safety as she answered questions about her role in accepting an alleged "blood diamond".
The supermodel received a pouch of "small, dirty-looking stones" in the middle of the night while staying at the home of former South African president Nelson Mandela, the court in The Hague, in the Netherlands, heard on Thursday.
Campbell, from south London, was giving evidence in the war crimes trial of Charles Taylor, who faces criminal responsibility charges including murder, rape, sexual slavery and using child soldiers. He is also accused of arming and controlling Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front.
The model, who is alleged to have been given a "blood diamond" from Taylor, was accused of being not "entirely truthful" after claiming she received the gems after a star-studded party hosted by Mr Mandela in September 1997.
The 40-year-old, who originally refused to give evidence until she was issued with a subpoena, said she discussed the incident with fellow guest the morning after the two men gave her the pouch of gems, and was told: "That's obviously Charles Taylor."
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