Guardian UK
Actor says it was the model herself who said 'dirty looking stones' were gift from ex-Liberian warlord, not her
Two witnesses in the trial of ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor have said the model Naomi Campbell received diamonds from Liberian warlord Charles Taylor.
Campbell's former agent Carole White and the actor Mia Farrow – both of whom were present at a dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela and attended by Taylor and Campbell – have given evidence in a court in the Hague today, some of which appeared to contradict the testimony given by the model last week.
Both White and Farrow said Campbell had been given diamonds while she was staying at Mandela's home in South Africa in September 1997.
Last week Campbell alleged that she had no idea who had sent her the "dirty looking stones" until breakfasting with Farrow and others the morning after.
White told the court that Campbell had flirted with Taylor at the dinner, and that he arranged to send her a gift of uncut diamonds.
She said she waited up with Campbell for some men to arrive at the guesthouse with the diamonds, and said the model was in contact with them by phone, either directly or via text message.
Eventually the two women went to bed but White was woken by a tapping on her window which she took to be small stones. She let the men in and they handed "five or six" stones to Campbell, White said.
However, pressed as to whether the men said they were sent by Charles Taylor, White was forced to admit they had not.
Earlier Farrow testified that Campbell had told her the diamonds came from Taylor.
Asked whether, as Campbell had claimed, it was Farrow herself who had said that the gift must have come from Taylor as "no one else" would have done it, Farrow replied: "Absolutely not. Naomi Campbell said they came from Charles Taylor."
She added: "What I remember is Naomi Campbell joined us at the [breakfast] table but before she even sat down she recounted an event of that evening.
"She said that in the night she had been awakened and some men were knocking at the door and they had been sent by Charles Taylor and … they had given her a huge diamond. And she said she intended to give the diamonds to Nelson Mandela's children's fund."
Pressed by the prosecution on whose suggestion it was that the mysterious donor was Taylor, the then recently elected president of Liberia, Farrow said: "Only hers. I didn't know anything about it." Campbell, she added, was "quite excited" about the gift.
In her testimony on Thursday, the 40-year-old model said she believed it had been Farrow who had told her that Taylor was behind the gift.
However, a defence lawyer for Taylor argued that all Farrow's testimony was "based on your recollection of what you heard 13 years ago". A lot had happened during that period, the lawyer added, mentioning the suicide of Farrow's brother and the death of her daughter.
But Farrow insisted she was sure of her account. Campbell's story, she said, had been "an unforgettable moment".
The defence also pressed her on her claims that Graça Machel, who is now Mandela's wife, had "seemed a little distressed" about the presence of Taylor at the dinner. Farrow had arrived at the presidential residence to be greeted by Machel telling her, she said, "in effect, 'you don't want anything to do with him'."
"I remember clearly this: that Mrs Machel shepherded me and the children" away from him, she said.
Despite this recalled anxiety, the defence lawyer pointed out, Machel had subsequently allowed Taylor, Mandela, Farrow and herself to all appear in a photograph together.
Farrow was also asked to try to remember how many people were at the dinner. She said she could not be sure that Taylor had even stayed for the dinner. "I believe he may have departed," she said, adding later: "I cannot swear that he was there or that he was not."
Dressed in a black suit with her distinctive curly hair falling around her shoulders, Farrow, 65, spoke softly while questioned by a lawyer for the prosecution, which is attempting to gather evidence to link Taylor to a trade in conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone rebels fighting a bloody civil war.
The 62-year-old former president denies the allegations, as he does all 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity put to him by the SCSL.
Questioned about her relationship with Campbell, Farrow spoke in glowing terms about the model, whom she said she got to know through their charitable activities in South Africa. "She was very maternal not only with my kids but with the models [she had brought over for a charity fashion show]," said the Golden Globe winner, adding Campbell had once even given her daughter a dress. "She was absolutely great," she added.
Campbell's former agent Carole White and the actor Mia Farrow – both of whom were present at a dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela and attended by Taylor and Campbell – have given evidence in a court in the Hague today, some of which appeared to contradict the testimony given by the model last week.
Both White and Farrow said Campbell had been given diamonds while she was staying at Mandela's home in South Africa in September 1997.
Last week Campbell alleged that she had no idea who had sent her the "dirty looking stones" until breakfasting with Farrow and others the morning after.
White told the court that Campbell had flirted with Taylor at the dinner, and that he arranged to send her a gift of uncut diamonds.
She said she waited up with Campbell for some men to arrive at the guesthouse with the diamonds, and said the model was in contact with them by phone, either directly or via text message.
Eventually the two women went to bed but White was woken by a tapping on her window which she took to be small stones. She let the men in and they handed "five or six" stones to Campbell, White said.
However, pressed as to whether the men said they were sent by Charles Taylor, White was forced to admit they had not.
Earlier Farrow testified that Campbell had told her the diamonds came from Taylor.
Asked whether, as Campbell had claimed, it was Farrow herself who had said that the gift must have come from Taylor as "no one else" would have done it, Farrow replied: "Absolutely not. Naomi Campbell said they came from Charles Taylor."
She added: "What I remember is Naomi Campbell joined us at the [breakfast] table but before she even sat down she recounted an event of that evening.
"She said that in the night she had been awakened and some men were knocking at the door and they had been sent by Charles Taylor and … they had given her a huge diamond. And she said she intended to give the diamonds to Nelson Mandela's children's fund."
Pressed by the prosecution on whose suggestion it was that the mysterious donor was Taylor, the then recently elected president of Liberia, Farrow said: "Only hers. I didn't know anything about it." Campbell, she added, was "quite excited" about the gift.
In her testimony on Thursday, the 40-year-old model said she believed it had been Farrow who had told her that Taylor was behind the gift.
However, a defence lawyer for Taylor argued that all Farrow's testimony was "based on your recollection of what you heard 13 years ago". A lot had happened during that period, the lawyer added, mentioning the suicide of Farrow's brother and the death of her daughter.
But Farrow insisted she was sure of her account. Campbell's story, she said, had been "an unforgettable moment".
The defence also pressed her on her claims that Graça Machel, who is now Mandela's wife, had "seemed a little distressed" about the presence of Taylor at the dinner. Farrow had arrived at the presidential residence to be greeted by Machel telling her, she said, "in effect, 'you don't want anything to do with him'."
"I remember clearly this: that Mrs Machel shepherded me and the children" away from him, she said.
Despite this recalled anxiety, the defence lawyer pointed out, Machel had subsequently allowed Taylor, Mandela, Farrow and herself to all appear in a photograph together.
Farrow was also asked to try to remember how many people were at the dinner. She said she could not be sure that Taylor had even stayed for the dinner. "I believe he may have departed," she said, adding later: "I cannot swear that he was there or that he was not."
Dressed in a black suit with her distinctive curly hair falling around her shoulders, Farrow, 65, spoke softly while questioned by a lawyer for the prosecution, which is attempting to gather evidence to link Taylor to a trade in conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone rebels fighting a bloody civil war.
The 62-year-old former president denies the allegations, as he does all 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity put to him by the SCSL.
Questioned about her relationship with Campbell, Farrow spoke in glowing terms about the model, whom she said she got to know through their charitable activities in South Africa. "She was very maternal not only with my kids but with the models [she had brought over for a charity fashion show]," said the Golden Globe winner, adding Campbell had once even given her daughter a dress. "She was absolutely great," she added.
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