The Hague - Dutch timber trader Guus Kouwenhoven was close to former Liberian president Charles Taylor and did odd jobs for him, prosecutors said in their closing argument in his war crimes trial before a Dutch court on Monday.
Kouwenhoven, 63, known as Mister Gus in Liberia, stands accused of war crimes and violation of a United Nations arms embargo for Liberia for allegedly trading guns for timber. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The prosecution cited correspondence found in Kouwenhoven's homes to show that the Dutch trader was "a close ally" of Taylor.
"Kouwenhoven was doing odd jobs for Taylor", prosecutor John Lucas said on Monday.
Lucas also highlighted contradictory statements by the accused who, he said, "handled truth creatively, to say the least".
Kouwenhoven claims he did not know about the crimes committed by Taylor's Liberian regime even though international media widely reported the atrocities.
"The accused knew what was going on, he had influence and was implicated in the day to day running" of the Taylor regime, Lucas concluded.
The prosecution further focused on citing case law from several UN international courts to show that Kouwenhoven could be convicted for war crimes because he smuggled arms into Liberia in exchange for timber concessions, the so-called blood timber trade.
By prosecuting Kouwenhoven "the Netherlands places itself on a line with countries like Belgium, Germany, Spain and Britain who do not want to become a refuge for war criminals" and have given their courts jurisdiction to try their nationals for war crimes committed in other countries.
During his trial one witness testified that he saw Kouwenhoven with Taylor regularly and that the pair would "discuss timber, the import of weapons and war strategy".
Taylor fled Liberia in 2003 after he stepped down to give a UN-brokered peace process a chance to stop the bloodshed caused by 14 years of civil war.
Kouwenhoven's defence will present his side of the story Wednesday. - Sapa-AFP