Network of… Naomi Campbell

Network of… Naomi Campbell

It turns out she doesn’t always hang out at The Hague with war criminals. Here’s a look at some of the supermodel’s super contacts.

August 5, 2010 5:01 by e.andraos

The 22nd President of Liberia is the reason Campbell finds herself in the news this week. The US-born and educated “flamboyant showman” (words of the UK’s Independent) is currently on trial for war crimes at the Hague, during which Campbell found herself subpoenaed to give evidence against him. Campbell confirmed that she had received ‘dirty looking pebbles’ from someone she assumed to work for Taylor. The pebbles were blood diamonds, and the prosecution alleges that Taylor traded diamonds for weapons during the decade long war in Liberia. Taylor is charged with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape and conscripting child soldiers. He is also accused of arming and controlling Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front, a rebel force responsible for widespread atrocities.

Born in Arthington, Montserrado County, Taylor earned a degree at Bentley College, before moving to Liberia to work in the government of Samuel Doe. He was removed for embezzlement, and wound up in Libya where he trained as a guerilla fighter. He returned to Liberia as the head of the National Patriotic Front, triggering a civil war, which ultimately saw him elected as President. But a second civil war saw him removed, exiled and placed in the custody of the UN.

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