McNabb in the News (8-30-06)

The International Herald Tribune editorial written by Douglas C. McNabb and C.J. Dresden has caught the eye of Monrovia’s The Analyst newspaper, which has written an article about the editorial.

Two … members of the global criminal defense firm, McNabb Associates, Douglas C. McNabb and C.J. Dresden, have condemned Taylor’s lawyers for the reported violation of his rights.

According to them, besides not visiting Taylor’s ICC prison cell to asses the conditions under which Mr. Taylor is being held, they seem completely unprepared to fight by responding to the barrage of media images against him.

The immobility of the lawyers and their un-preparedness to challenge and chide some of the issues that have been raised against Taylor, they contended, may do injustice to him.

…

They accused the Special Court of giving its former chief prosecutor, Mr. David Crane, the opportunity to interpret the transfer and the attention it has garnered, including the Special Court's photos and home movies.

The photos and movies, they claimed, allowed the people of West Africa to see Charles Taylor - who was so feared - humbled before the law as indication that justice was being done.

“If this is what ‘justice’ means, why bother with a trial and a defense at all?” they wondered.

…

Taylor’s lawyers, headed by the British barrister, Karim Ahymad Khan, would not be reached for comment, but the Acting Prosecutor of the Special Court, Christopher Staker, told a team of international journalists recently in Freetown that the defense council was adequately responding to charges against Taylor.^[1]

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[1] U.S. Firm Condemns Taylor’s Lawyers, The Analyst, Aug. 30, 2006.