About this blog

This weblog provides up-to-date information and analysis about the trial of Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr.

On September 24, 2008, the first trial for the federal crime of torture will begin in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. USA v. Belfast is a landmark case in domestic human rights implementation and in criminal prosecution. This is the first indictment the United States has ever brought under the criminal statute implementing the United Nations Convention Against Torture, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2340 and 2340A.  The defendant Roy Belfast, also known as Charles Emmanuel and known in Liberia as Chuckie Taylor, is being tried for the U.S. federal felony of torture. He is accused of committing torture in Liberia while he was the commander of that country’s Anti-Terrorism Unit. Since the defendant was an official of a foreign government at the time the alleged incidents took place, and those alleged crimes took place outside of the United States, the litigation of this trial involves important issues of international and constitutional law, including the extraterritorial jurisdiction of U.S. courts, the constitutional authority of Congress to criminalize acts committed abroad, Congress’ obligation to implement the obligations of a ratified human rights treaty, and the definition of torture in federal and international law.

Law students at the University of Miami and Florida International University are monitoring the trial and reporting on the proceedings on this weblog.  Additional articles by the students, their supervising professors, human rights advocates, and guest writers, will provide expert analysis.

The site does not take a position on the defendant’s innocence or guilt.  Our purpose is to provide a public service by documenting the trial as it proceeds.  Each author’s writing represents his or her own observations and does not represent the views or opinions of the blog or the contributors as a whole.