"It is very, very, very unfortunate that the prosecution's disinformation, misinformation, lies and rumours would associate me with such titles, as a murderer or rapist," Charles Taylor told the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL).

The former president of Liberia went on to outline his "very modest" background. He said that as a young man he had cleaned floors and washed dishes to pay for his college fees in the United States. In 1972, Taylor left for the US where he studied, among other subjects, accountancy, before his political ambition surfaced. "Seeing the need of our Liberian people, I saw myself in the future as part of the government that would help our people," Taylor said.

Echoing his lawyers who addressed the international court on Monday, Taylor denied all eleven charges which include ordering the recruitment of child soldiers, rape, murder and torture during Leone's 1991-2001 civil wars.

During this time, Taylor is said to have armed, trained and controlled Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels and ordered them to mutilate thousands of civilians in his quest to secure control of Sierra Leone's diamond mines.

Gruesome evidence against Taylor

Before wrapping up their case in February, prosecutors had already interviewed 91 witnesses, many of whom provided graphic testimony. The witnesses provided disturbing details of atrocities carried out in Sierra Leone, including amputations, murder of children and cannibalism.

Taylor's testimony is expected to last several weeks. He is the first of 249 witnesses that the defence will call to the stand.

Taylor has been on trial in The Hague since June 2007 at facilities provided by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The court is headquartered in Freetown, but the trial is taking place in the Netherlands due to concerns it may trigger violence in Sierra Leone.

wl/Reuters/AFP/AP

Editor: Neil King