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possible way to supplement their meagre income". The Defence argues that nonetheless it is "not self-evident that Taylor should have known that some of it was given instead to the RUF by Yeaten". 5567 Further, the Accused denies that he supplied arms or ammunition to the RUF during the Indictment period .5568 2576. Concerning Yeaten's alleged role in this "private enterprise", the Defence relies on evidence from the Accused, TFI-371, DCT-008, Moses Blah, TFI-567, Sam Kolleh, Varmuyan Sherif, Abu Keita, Dauda Arona Fornie, and Issa Sesay, as well as Exhibit P-O18. Evidence Prosecution Witness Moses Blah 2577. Witness Moses Blah, Inspector General of the NPFL from 1990 to 1997,5569 Liberian Ambassador of Libya and Tunisia following Taylor's election to 2000,5570 and Vice­ President of Liberia from 2000 to 2003,5571 testified that he first met Benjamin Yeaten in Tajura Camp in Libya when Yeaten was about 14 to 15 years old. Because Yeaten was very effective in training, Charles Taylor recognised him and drew him nearer to him by appointing him to be his bodyguard and to be director of certain units that would be close to the President at the time. Eventually Yeaten became the Director of the SSS.Yeaten maintained his relationship with Taylor until Taylor left Liberia.5572 Only Taylor could give Yeaten orders. Blah stated that "[n]obody could disobey an order from Taylor. You would be punished severely, including myself We could not disobey his orders".5573 2578. Blah testified that in 2003 Yeaten took a group of Liberian men who had been wounded in battle to the Mahare River and executed them. Blah was informed about the event a few days later but he did not ask Taylor or Yeaten about it in part because Blah had limited authority if the Executive Mansion Guards were involved and because he was "not authorised, more especially when Benjamin Yeaten was involved". Blah further testified that 5567 Defence Final Trial Brief. para. 11 35. 5568 Defence Final Trial Brief. para. 11 34. 5569 Moses Blah. Transcript 15 May 2008. pp. 9943-9945. 5570 Moses Blah. Transcript 14 May 2008, pp. 9882-9884 . 5571 Moses Blah, Transcript 14 May 2008. pp. 9882-9884 ; Blah became President of Liberia for 60 days from II August to II October 2003: Moses Blah. Transcript 16 May 2008, p. 10065. 5572 Moses Blah, Transcript 14 May 2008. p. 9848. 5573 Moses Blah, Transcript 14 May 2008. p. 9849. Case No.: SCSL-03 -0 1-T 18 May 2012 "[k]nowing [Yeaten] to be a crucial man and a most powerful man working with the President, I left that up to him. It was up to him to find it out by himself,.5574 2579. Blah stated that there were various commanders in charge of each and every unit but Yeaten was the overall commander and could move from unit to unit taking instructions and carrying messages from President Taylor.5575 During the latter part of Taylor's presidency "Yeaten grew so powerful that he did not even have regard for the Vice-President of Liberia [...] and the defence minister also was not considered to be anything in the face of Benjamin Yeaten and his powers".5576 However, Yeaten was not more powerful than Taylor.5577 2580. Blah testified that even the commander of one unit could not give orders to the commander of another, and that commanders did not take orders from him, even as Inspector General and even as Vice President of Liberia. Taylor "was the sole commander of everything, even the defence minister could not give orders at that time. [Taylor] was the sole commander-in-chiefofthe entire operations ofthe anny".5578 2581. Blah testified that in 2003 he had a conversation with Taylor concemmg Sam Bockarie's presence in Liberia, as Sierra Leone was searching for him . Blah advised Taylor to tum Bockarie over to the Sierra Leonean govemment in order for the Liberian govemment to maintain "a good face".5579 Later Blah was driving back to Monrovia when he came upon a road block and could not pass through. Yeaten was at a nearby camp and asked to speak to Blah. Yeaten told Blah to look in his pick-up truck to see the mission he had been on the night before, and Blah saw the dead bodies of Sam Bockarie and another person . Yeaten said he was sending the pick-up with the corpses inside to the Chief in Monrovia. A week or two later, when they were back in Monrovia, Yeaten jokingly told Blah that he had killed Bockarie to destroy evidence so they would not be exposed, and that, in reference to Blah 's advice to Taylor conceming Bockarie,"[tjhe way you were thinking was the wrong way". When Blah arrived in Monrovia he went to White Flower and reported 5574 Moses Blah, Transcript 15 May 2008, pp. 9936-9940. 5575 Moses Blah, Transcript 16 May :W08, p. 10045. 5576 Moses Blah, Transcript 16 May 2008, pp. 10045-10046. 5577 Moses Blah,Transcript 16 May 2008, p. 10046. 5578 Moses Blah, Transcript 16 May 2008, pp. 10044-10045. 5579 Moses Blah, Transcript 15 May 2008, pp. 9975-9976. 875 Case No.: SCSL-03-01-T 18 May 20 12 38968 what he had seen. Taylor told him that it was not his, Blah's, business as it was a military operation.558o Prosecution Witness Joseph Marzah 2582. Witness Joseph Marzah, an SSS member,5581 testified that he made 20 to 40 trips to Sierra Leone carrying arms, ammunitions and artillery. He testified that these trips were undertaken "on the direct instructions of Charles Taylor". He further stated that Taylor led the "government that had a constitution" which governed the country, "anything we did was by his orders".5582 Prosecution Witness TFl-371 2583. Witness TFI-371 , an RUF member,5583 testified that Issa Sesay had complained to him that Benjamin Yeaten had taken for himself $USD 30,000 from the proceeds ofmining that was meant to go to Charles Taylor. Sesay confronted Yeaten who admitted that he did take the money, but he also said that he would pay it back. 5584 The witness further testified that he agreed that behaviour such as this by Yeaten and other "honourables" was indicative "of a general sense of indiscipline and private enterprise which pervaded much of the behaviour ofmany people involved in this conflict".5585 2584. TFl-371 also testified on cross-examination that the commanders were in a habit of bribing Yeaten so that they would not be delayed in their missions in Monrovia. More specifically, when Sam Bockarie would go to Monrovia, "because Mr Taylor can be very busy [.. .] he takes some time with Benjamin Yeaten, the commander, before he sees Mr Taylor. So, they had this habit of giving him a present, sometimes diamonds or money, to have [...] quick access". 5586 TFl-371 said that all access to Taylor for the RUF, including 5580 Moses Blah, Transcript 15 May 2008, pp. 9986-9991. 5581 Joseph Marzah, Transcript 13 March 2008, pp. 6053-6055. 5582 Joseph Marzah, Transcript 12 March 2008, pp. 5876-5877. 5583 TFI-371 , Transcript 29 January 2008 , pp. 2555-2556 (CS) . 5584 TF 1-371, Transcript 30 January 2008, pp. 2660-2661 (CS). 5585 TF 1-371, Transcript 30 January 2008 , p. 2662 (CS). 5586 TFI-371, Transcript 28 January 2008 , p. 2409 (CS). This testimony was made in reference to quest ioning concerning Exhibit P-063, "RUF Defence Headquarters Forum with the External Delegates Led by the RUF Defence Staff, 2nd December 1998", p. 4. In this exhibit, which is a report on the meeting that Sam Bockarie convened in order to report on the external mission to Burkina Faso in December 1998, Bockarie "inferred re that he went with a two and half carats (2 1/2 carats) diamond and some other items which he gave as present to a senior security - Benjamin inorder [sic] to facilitate easy access to all chanc es for the undelayed success of our 876 Case No.: SCSL-03-01-T .> 18 May 20 12 38q69 even Sankoh, went through either Musa Cisse or Benjamin Yeaten .5587 When asked on re­ examination who, other than the RUF, was looking to line their own pockets, TFI -37l stated "[njorrnally like Sam Bockarie and lssa, I mean those that were in the position, I mean senior command".5588 Prosecution Witness Dauda Anma Fornie 2585. Oauda Aruna Fornie ("OAF"), an RUF radio operator5589who worked in Buedu from early 1998 until late April 1999,5590 testified that throughout this period, Bockarie, through h is radio operators, would contact Benjamin Yeaten or Taylor to request military supplies.5591Base I was the station that coordinated between Sam Bockarie and Mr Taylor. Sunlight would tell Bravo Zulu to inform Mosquito to switch on his satellite phone.5592 Yeaten's radio operator, Sunlight, would then respond that Bockarie should wait while Yeaten consulted with "the Papay", or "the old man,,5593 or "Zero-Four-Seven", which Fornie understood to refer to Taylor.5594 Prosecution Witness Perry Kamara 2586. Perry Kamara, an RUF radio operator,5595 testified that Bockarie would send vehicles to collect deliveries of arms and ammunitions from Foya and bring them to Buedu. Civilians were used to carry loads from the Moa River. Bockarie would then send a message to his commanders "that he had brought ammunitions from Mr Charles Taylor".5 596 Food, including rice, was also sent from Liberia, and Bockarie would send a message to the RUF that he had received food or ammunition - "whatever he get [sic] from Taylor".5597 Prosecution Witness TF 1-567 mission".

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