Liberia: Taylor's Lawyers Reject 'Guilty

What the report says

The New Dawn reports that the family and legal team of former Liberian Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor have pushed back against public claims that she has already been indicted or found guilty. In a statement, they said the accusations against her remain unproven and stressed that a criminal complaint is not the same as an indictment or conviction. The remarks came after her defense team withdrew a request for a preliminary examination in Monrovia City Court.

According to the report, the withdrawal led Magistrate Ben Barco to send the case to the appropriate court so prosecutors can pursue the next step in the formal indictment process. The defense had originally sought the preliminary hearing to challenge the evidence behind Howard-Taylor’s arrest and detention, but said prosecutors objected to disclosure of some material and the court upheld that objection. The lawyers said they then chose to move the matter toward trial, where they expect broader pretrial access to evidence.

Howard-Taylor’s team said the procedural move should not be treated as an admission of guilt and urged officials and the media to avoid describing allegations as established fact. The prosecution, meanwhile, said it had enough probable cause to continue and that its evidence is available for use. The case now appears to be entering a new phase in Liberia’s judicial process, with the formal indictment decision still pending.