Posted August 9, 201014 yr Naomi Campbell said Taylor sent diamond: Mia Farrow Source - BBC News Actress Mia Farrow has testified that model Naomi Campbell said she got a "huge diamond" from men sent by ex-Liberian president Charles Taylor. Giving evidence to the Special Court for Sierra Leone in the Netherlands last week, Ms Campbell said she was given some "dirty-looking stones" after a dinner hosted by former South African President Nelson Mandela in 1997. "What I remember is Naomi Campbell... said, in effect, 'Oh my god... last night I was awakened by knocking at the door and it was men sent by Charles Taylor and he sent me... a huge diamond'," Ms Farrow said. Ms Farrow said the suggestion that Mr Taylor sent the gift came directly from Ms Campbell, contradicting Ms Campbell's testimony that she did not know who had sent it. "And she said that she intended to give the diamond to Nelson Mandela's children's charity." Ms Campbell last week told the court she had given the stones to Jeremy Ractliffe of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund (NMCF) the next morning, because she wanted the stones to go to charity. Mr Ractliffe has now handed the gems to police, and on Sunday they confirmed the stones were real diamonds. 'Mildly flirtatious' After Ms Farrow, Ms Campbell's former agent, Carole White, is due to testify before the court. Both women were at the breakfast where Ms Campbell is said to have told them about the late-night gift delivered to her room. 'Blood diamonds' Continue reading the main story "Blood diamonds" or "conflict diamonds" are rough diamonds used by rebel groups to finance wars against governments They have fuelled decades of conflicts in countries such as Angola, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and DR Congo The 2003 Kimberley Process requires its 49 members, who represent 75 countries, to certify shipments of rough diamonds as "conflict-free" Critics question the system, saying countries with the worst wars - Angola, Sierra Leone and DR Congo - have weak internal controls The charges against Charles Taylor Ms White has told prosecutors that Mr Taylor and Ms Campbell were "mildly flirtatious" throughout the dinner, and that she had heard him promise the model a gift of diamonds. "It was arranged that he would send some men back with the gift," said the notes of an interview prosecutors had with Ms White in May. Ms White said Ms Campbell "seemed excited about the diamonds and she kept talking about them". Mr Taylor, 62, was arrested in 2006 and his trial in The Hague opened in 2007. The former warlord and president of Liberia is accused of using illegally mined diamonds to secure weapons for Sierra Leone's RUF rebels during the 1991-2001 civil war - a charge he denies. Prosecutors say that from his seat of power in Liberia, Mr Taylor also trained and commanded the rebels who murdered, raped and maimed Sierra Leone civilians, frequently hacking off their hands and legs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Supermodels, actresses, diamonds... Sounds a bit like a naff soap-opera, but in reality, this is deadly serious stuff as it directly relates to whether or not Charles Taylor is guilty of war-crimes and whether or not he was using blood diamonds to fund rebels in Sierra Leone who were carrying out very real, very bloody atrocities..... So, what possible reason can Ms Campbell have for committing what is tantamount to perjury..? Is her "reputation" really more important to her than making sure a murdering b'astard like Taylor gets his just desserts...?? Does this vile bitch actually have any kind of conscience at all...??? Let's face it, Campbell is hardly a stranger to giving evidence to courts is she, having been on trial for assault and all..... I for one hope she gets done for perjury and obstruction of justice....
August 9, 201014 yr Now come on, this is a bit harsh - this isn't the first time two people have given evidence that's only mildly contradictory (but where the main thrust remains true), and it HAS been thirteen years...
August 9, 201014 yr Now come on, this is a bit harsh - this isn't the first time two people have given evidence that's only mildly contradictory (but where the main thrust remains true), and it HAS been thirteen years... I kinda agree with this Campbell is a very unsavoury character but I can barely remember well things that happened 13 weeks ago let alone 13 years and her life is a damn slight more hectic than mine
August 9, 201014 yr Author Now come on, this is a bit harsh - this isn't the first time two people have given evidence that's only mildly contradictory (but where the main thrust remains true), and it HAS been thirteen years... Oh come on, are you REALLY just gonna forget representatives of a violent and brutal dictator giving you massive, illegal conflict diamonds....? I mean, does Naomi Campbell get illegal conflict diamonds from brutal dictators so often that she just forgets which diamonds came from which brutal dictator..... :rolleyes: Bull, she's being economical with the truth, because the truth doesn't exactly make her look good does it...? She's tarting around and flirting with some mass murderer who then gives her some of the blood diamonds he's using to fund atrocities in Sierra Leone, making her, in effect, appear guilty of receiving goods from a highly dubious source... Hardly something you're likely gonna want to put your hand up to, is it...?
August 9, 201014 yr Oh come on, are you REALLY just gonna forget representatives of a violent and brutal dictator giving you massive, illegal conflict diamonds....? I mean, does Naomi Campbell get illegal conflict diamonds from brutal dictators so often that she just forgets which diamonds came from which brutal dictator..... :rolleyes: Bull, she's being economical with the truth, because the truth doesn't exactly make her look good does it...? She's tarting around and flirting with some mass murderer who then gives her some of the blood diamonds he's using to fund atrocities in Sierra Leone, making her, in effect, appear guilty of receiving goods from a highly dubious source... Hardly something you're likely gonna want to put your hand up to, is it...? Yeah, but both of the testimonies have her receiving the diamonds, so it's not as if she's absolving herself entirely, is it? :lol:
August 9, 201014 yr Author Tyron, you're clearly not quite appreciating the complexities of the case... The Prosectution's case rests almost entirely on tying Taylor to the sale of Blood Diamonds in South Africa.. Now, Naomi Campbell getting up and saying "yeah, his people did come round and give me the diamonds" is first-hand evidence and strengthens the prosecution case, Farrow's is second-hand because it comes from a conversation the day after, therefore anything Campbell says has a bit more weight and would be more likely to lead to a prosecution.. And, sorry, but I dont buy her "doe-eyed innocent" routine, like she somehow had no clue where the diamonds came from, like they suddenly magically appeared in her room, when she's been whoreing around the bloke all night and he's PROMISED her he'd give her diamonds.... The fact that she was bragging about it to Farrow and others the next day proves the point.... For people like her, it's all about their reputations, they dont care about anything, or anyone, else, she's trying to make herself appear a bit better than she is by now saying "honest guv, I dont know who gave them to me, and I didn't think they was diamonds anyway, on me muvvah's grave".... She'd actually get a bit more respect from me if she'd testified against Taylor to get him sent down, which is what the murdering scumbag deserves.... I guess another option could be that she's maybe been "got at" by cronies of Taylors...
August 9, 201014 yr I would've thought a fear of Taylor's cronies would be a bit more significant than a fear for her (already pretty much wrecked) reputation...
August 9, 201014 yr Author I would've thought a fear of Taylor's cronies would be a bit more significant than a fear for her (already pretty much wrecked) reputation... Well, if she'd in genuine fear for her safety then she should petition the court for protection... But, frankly, given the fact that she's not exactly poor, I dont see how she wouldn't have a bodyguard or two anyway..... Her rep is tarnished somewhat yes, but for deluded souls like her, they think they can get the "glory days" back (absolutely no fukkin' chance in her case though, but she's got too much of an inflated ego to admit it to herself...), and admitting to receiving diamonds from a nasty dictator would really kick that (pretty tenuous) hope into the long grass for sure.....
August 9, 201014 yr It is a disgrace that this trail has suddenly turned into the Naomi Campbell circus.The issue is Charles Taylor and I can bet the holier than though media payed his war crimes less attention than they are giving Naomi.She is no saint and no one has ever claimed she is but lets stick to the real issue of the lives Taylor has destroyed and the people who are still beng victimised because of conflict diamonds in Zimbabwe, The Congo and Sierra Leone.
August 9, 201014 yr Author It is a disgrace that this trail has suddenly turned into the Naomi Campbell circus.The issue is Charles Taylor and I can bet the holier than though media payed his war crimes less attention than they are giving Naomi.She is no saint and no one has ever claimed she is but lets stick to the real issue of the lives Taylor has destroyed and the people who are still beng victimised because of conflict diamonds in Zimbabwe, The Congo and Sierra Leone. True, they have been concentrating rather too much on Ms Campbell, but the facts of the case are that the prosecution is trying to get a prosecution of Taylor through tying him to this sale of conflict diamonds in South Africa, now, like it or not, Ms Campbell's and Mia Farrow's testimonies could tie the diamonds directly to Taylor, so she is an important witness and the question of whether Taylor gave Campbell some of the diamonds that he was selling in order to fund his war-crimes does become very important; like her or not (and I dont like her much, especially when she's plainly being economical with the truth to try and save her tattered reputation) she is an important witness, and what she and the others say could conceivably make or break the case, so my question of whether she's being deceitful becomes rather vital, as her saying "yes, Taylor's people did give me diamonds" could so easily have sunk Taylor and sent him to prison... Personally, I think she was deliberately deceitful, whether it was because she was "got at" by Taylor's allies or whether she's just trying to save her own tarnished rep is the question... If it's the latter, well, fukkin' shame on her and I hope she gets sent down for obstructing justice, if it's the former, then clearly she needed to be put in protective custody.... What I dont buy however, is that she somehow "forgot" a murdering dictator gave her diamonds....
August 9, 201014 yr True, they have been concentrating rather too much on Ms Campbell, but the facts of the case are that the prosecution is trying to get a prosecution of Taylor through tying him to this sale of conflict diamonds in South Africa, now, like it or not, Ms Campbell's and Mia Farrow's testimonies could tie the diamonds directly to Taylor, so she is an important witness and the question of whether Taylor gave Campbell some of the diamonds that he was selling in order to fund his war-crimes does become very important; like her or not (and I dont like her much, especially when she's plainly being economical with the truth to try and save her tattered reputation) she is an important witness, and what she and the others say could conceivably make or break the case, so my question of whether she's being deceitful becomes rather vital, as her saying "yes, Taylor's people did give me diamonds" could so easily have sunk Taylor and sent him to prison... Personally, I think she was deliberately deceitful, whether it was because she was "got at" by Taylor's allies or whether she's just trying to save her own tarnished rep is the question... If it's the latter, well, fukkin' shame on her and I hope she gets sent down for obstructing justice, if it's the former, then clearly she needed to be put in protective custody.... What I dont buy however, is that she somehow "forgot" a murdering dictator gave her diamonds.... I totally understand what you are saying and her testimoney as dishonest as it has been is very important in tying him to blood diamonds.It just annoys me so much that there are thousands of victims of Taylor who are nameless and faceless and will never get there day in court yet we are forced to endure Naomi day in day out.I want to see his victims on the stand and the people who brought and paid for blood diamonds knowing the source.Sadly there are people still being victimised by this type of illegal trade and whose lives are deemed irrelevant yet tomorrow Naomi will dominate the headlines again.
August 9, 201014 yr Author I totally understand what you are saying and her testimoney as dishonest as it has been is very important in tying him to blood diamonds.It just annoys me so much that there are thousands of victims of Taylor who are nameless and faceless and will never get there day in court yet we are forced to endure Naomi day in day out.I want to see his victims on the stand and the people who brought and paid for blood diamonds knowing the source.Sadly there are people still being victimised by this type of illegal trade and whose lives are deemed irrelevant yet tomorrow Naomi will dominate the headlines again. You're preaching to the choir here mate, I totally agree with you on that one..... ;) The ordinary people of Sierra Leone and Liberia should be the ones that the media circus is concentrating on, absolutely... Sadly, it never works like that..... :(
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