In a groundbreaking trial, former Liberian President Charles Taylor's son, Charles McArthur Emmanuel, also known as Chuckie Taylor, is charged with inflicting and ordering the torture of prisoners as head of the elite paramilitary unit in his father's government.
The case marks the first prosecution under a 1994 law criminalizing torture outside US borders. It tests the principle that alleged human rights abusers should answer for their crimes no matter where they are brought to account. The 'Chuckie trial' is a test case in prosecuting torture committed elsewhere by US citizens.