THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Prosecutors launched their war crimes case against former Liberian President Charles Taylor on Monday, taking testimony from an expert on blood diamonds and showing video of a Sierra Leone miner whose hands had been hacked off.

	• Ex- Pres. Charles Taylor in court

The 11 charges against him include murder, rape, enslavement and conscripting child soldiers. Taylor, the first former African head of state to appear before an international tribunal, has pleaded innocent.

The 59-year-old former leader is accused of terrorizing the people of Sierra Leone by orchestrating atrocities by militias known for slicing off their victims' limbs during the country's 10-year civil war, which ended in 2003.

His trial started in June but was immediately adjourned when he boycotted the hearing and fired his lawyer, claiming he would not get a fair trial.

Ian Smillie, a Canadian expert on the international trade in blood diamonds, testified that the militias, using captives for labor, took over Sierra Leonean diamond fields producing gems that were among the world's most valuable per carat.

The illicit diamond trade was likely one source of funds for smuggled arms shipments by suspected weapons dealers including Leonid Minin and Viktor Bout, the prosecution suggested.

Smillie showed the three-judge panel photos of a jet formerly used by the Seattle Supersonics NBA team that smuggled 68 tons of Ukrainian weapons and ammunition -- strapped into leather seats -- into Liberia through Burkina Faso in March 1999.

Prosecutor Nick Koumjian also showed a documentary about conflict diamonds to give judges background on the trade and the history of Sierra Leone, although defense attorneys objected to Smillie being portrayed as a history expert.

One part of the documentary showed a Sierra Leonean miner whose hands were hacked off and whose wife and children burned to death in 1998 by militias allegedly backed by Taylor. Another clip featured a boy who said he was kidnapped by the militia, the Revolutionary United Front or RUF, and forced to work as a slave in diamond mines.

Defense attorneys objected the video was "prejudicial material over which he has no expertise whatsoever," and judges agreed Smillie should not be allowed to testify about atrocities.

Prosecutors say Taylor's desire to get diamonds from Sierra Leone was one of the causes of his alleged involvement in that country's civil war. Smillie said Taylor denied involvement in diamond smuggling when Smillie interviewed him in October 2000 as part of a U.N. investigation.

"He said it was possible -- highly probable -- that there were RUF diamonds coming through Liberia, but he didn't know anything about it," Smillie said.

Taylor, wearing a gray suit and tie and gold-rimmed glasses, listened carefully to proceedings but showed no emotion. He carefully studied prosecution documents and photos with his defense team.

Smillie was the first of 144 prosecution witnesses, although attorneys expect only half of them to appear in person. The complex case was expected to last nearly two years. An appeal would likely carry the legal process into 2010.

The second witness scheduled to testify was a victim of the militias. Taylor's defense team does not deny the atrocities happened in Sierra Leone, and has argued that calling victims is an unnecessary appeal to the emotions of judges.

Later in the week, a former member of Taylor's inner circle is expected to testify about how the ex-president allegedly controlled and encouraged militias in Sierra Leone.

The trial is being held in The Hague because of concerns that holding it in the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown, could spark new unrest. But the trial is being beamed to Freetown, where the public can watch at the court's headquarters.

In Monrovia, the Liberian capital, hundreds of Taylor supporters attended a prayer service Sunday night, gathering before a mammoth poster of him.

Baptist preacher Joseph Johnson told the congregation: "We strongly believe in the innocence of the accused."

Taylor's support in his home country is led by his family, who say he was not in control of those that carried out the crimes. Some also argue it is unfair to single out Taylor when other Liberians linked to war crimes during civil conflict in Liberia from 1989 to 2003 have escaped trial, and even gone on to political careers.

After the war, Liberians established a truth and reconciliation process, which has no punitive powers, rather than embark

In 2006, the Security Council authorized the staging of Mr. Taylor’s trial at The Hague, citing reasons of security and expediency. Although the trial will be held at the premises of the International Criminal Court (ICC), it will remain under the exclusive jurisdiction of the SCSL.

The Special Court, established in January 2002 by an agreement between the Sierra Leonean Government and the UN, is mandated to try “those who bear greatest responsibility” for war crimes and crimes against community committed in the country after 30 November 1996.

Last July, it reached an agreement with the British government whereby Mr. Taylor will serve out his sentence in the United Kingdom if he is convicted.

Shocking Footage At Taylor Trial

Video footage of mutilated victims of Sierra Leone rebels has been shown at the war crimes trial of Liberia's former President Charles Taylor. Mr. Taylor - who is accused of trading weapons for diamonds - showed no emotion as the first witness, an expert on "blood diamonds", gave evidence.

The delayed trial has resumed at The Hague after a six-month delay. Mr Taylor is the first African former head of state to face an international war crimes court and faces 11 charges. He denies responsibility for atrocities committed by rebels during the civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

Video of a Sierra Leonean diamond miner was shown to the court, in which he described how his hands were hacked off by laughing Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels who later burned down his house, killing his wife and children.

He said the borders were very porous and he had no control over this Ian Smillie witness

The case against Mr Taylor centres on allegations that diamonds illegally mined by rebels in Sierra Leone were exported from Liberia with Mr Taylor's co-operation, and the proceeds from their sale used to buy weapons for the rebels.

Witness Ian Smillie, who wrote a report for the United Nations on conflict - or "blood" - diamonds, said the former RUF rebels used brutality to frighten people away from diamond fields that earned them up to $125m (£63m) a year.

He said figures showed that during the war in Sierra Leone, Liberia exported far more diamonds than it could have produced itself.

He said that when he met Mr Taylor in 2000, the former president had told him it was "highly probable" that the former RUF rebels were dealing in diamonds, and that some of them might have been going through Liberia.

"But, he said this was not official, and he didn't know anything about it," Mr Smillie told the court. "He said the borders were very porous and he had no control over this."

Mr Taylor's defence objected to some of Mr Smillie's testimony as hearsay, but most of it was accepted by the court.

Funded defence

The trial opened in June last year but proceedings were postponed after Mr Taylor fired his defence lawyer and boycotted the opening of the trial. He now has a new defence team - a senior British lawyer, who is being paid for by the court, as Mr Taylor says he cannot afford it himself.

The BBC's Mark Doyle in The Hague says this will surprise many people in Liberia, who claim he made lots of money by selling timber and diamonds.

Mr Taylor is accused of responsibility for the actions of Revolutionary United Front rebels during the 1991-2001 civil war in Sierra Leone, which included unlawful killings, sexual slavery, use of child soldiers and looting.

RUF fighters were also notorious for hacking off the arms and legs of the civilian population with machetes. As the first international criminal prosecution against a former African ruler accused of misdeeds, the case is of crucial importance, our correspondent says.

Mr Taylor has pleaded not guilty to all 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The prosecution will also be calling a Liberian witness who is said to have belonged to Mr Taylor's inner circle.

Both witnesses are protected, which means their names have not been revealed. In all, the prosecution intends to call 144 witnesses, though only half are likely to appear in person.

The trial is expected to last about 18 months. It is being held in The Hague for fear that staging it in Sierra Leone might lead to fresh unrest there. If convicted, the UK has offered to jail him - again in case his presence in West Africa led to instability.

SOURCES: AFP/BBCNEWS