Campell's war crimes trial appearance 'a distraction'

Prosecutors were today accused of scoring a “spectacular own goal” after calling supermodel Naomi Campbell as a witness in the war crimes trial of former Liberian leader Charles Taylor.

The 40-year-old from Streatham, south London, admitted receiving “dirty-looking pebbles” from two men in the middle of the night after a party hosted by Nelson Mandela in South Africa in September 1997.

But she claimed she was never told who the gift was from, contradicting the accounts of her former agent Carole White, and actress Mia Farrow.

Campbell, wearing a figure-hugging cream dress and heels, and an “evil-eye” pendant, described her appearance as a “big inconvenience”.

She was forced to come to the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, Holland, after prosecutors issued a subpoena.

They were hoping Campbell’s evidence would provide a link between Taylor, 62, and so-called “blood diamonds”, which he is said to have received from Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

He is accused of arming and controlling the rebels, using diamonds to buy weapons which he allegedly shipped from Burkina Faso.

Under questioning from prosecutor Brenda Hollis, Campbell told the court she was sleeping after the party when she heard a knock on the door.

Two men handed her a small pouch, saying “a gift for you”, before leaving without further explanation.

She did not open the pouch until the next morning and even then was not sure what was inside.

“They were kind of dirty-looking pebbles,” Campbell said.

“I’m used to seeing diamonds shining in a box.”

At breakfast, she told her former agent Ms White and Farrow, who were also guests, about the incident.

She said: “One of the two said ’Well, that’s obviously Charles Taylor’ and I said ’Yeah, I guess it was’.”

She said one of the women also suggested the stones were “obviously diamonds” and at that point she decided to hand them over to a “trusted friend”.

Campbell said she gave the stones to Jeremy Ratcliffe, who was then the head of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.

The court heard the charity has no record of any such gift but Campbell said she understood Mr Ratcliffe was still in possession of the stones.

The model insisted she had wanted them to be donated to charity but said: “He still has them so they didn’t benefit.”

In a statement today, the charity said it had been unable to locate their former head.

Ms Hollis tried to stop Campbell from interrupting before she finished her questions.

She asked the model if she was nervous, to which Campbell replied: “I didn’t really want to be here. I was made to be here so obviously I’m just wanting to get this over with and get on with my life.

“This is a big inconvenience for me. I really don’t want anything to do with this and I care about the protection of my family.

“This is someone, I read up on the internet, that has killed thousands of people, supposedly, and I don’t want my family in danger in any way.”

Taylor faces 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including that he is responsible for murder, rape, sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers.

In documents submitted to the court, Farrow said Campbell had provided an “unforgettable story” of the incident.

She said: “She told us she had been awakened in the night by knocking at her door. She opened the door to find two or three men – I do not recall how many - who presented her with a large diamond which they said was from Charles Taylor.”

Ms White said she had even held the diamonds in her own hands. The pair are due to give evidence next week.

But defence lawyer Courtenay Griffiths QC said Ms White, who has launched a legal action against Campbell for breach of contract, was someone with “a powerful motive to lie” about her.

And Campbell denied the agent’s account that she was “mildly flirtatious” with Taylor during dinner.

She said she had never heard of Taylor before and had never heard of the country Liberia before.

She added: “When I am with Nelson Mandela – and I think everyone in the world feels the same way – my focus and attention is on him.”

Ms Hollis questioned Campbell’s account.

She asked the model: “Isn’t it correct that your account today is not entirely truthful because of your fear of Charles Taylor?”

Campbell replied: “No, that’s not correct.”

Mr Griffiths objected to the questioning, branding Ms Hollis’s “cross-examination” of Campbell, as a prosecution witness, “totally improper”.

Ms Hollis then tried to disown Campbell, saying for “all practical purposes” she was not a prosecution witness as she had been unco-operative.

Justice Julia Sebutinde asked: “If this witness is not a prosecution witness whose witness is she?”

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Griffiths said the supermodel may have focused the eyes of the world on the trial, but ultimately her appearance was a “complete distraction” from the case.

“Our view is that the prosecution scored a spectacular own goal by calling Naomi Campbell,” he said.

“The most damaging event is the failure of Naomi Campbell to say that the men who came to her there and gave her the diamonds or pebbles came from Charles Taylor.”