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Dutch prosecutors demand 20 years for alleged gun runner
AMSTERDAM – Prosecutors have demanded a 20-year sentence for a Dutch businessman accused of illegally funneling arms to former Liberian warlord Charles Taylor and involvement in war crimes during Liberia’s brutal civil conflict.
The demand came Friday at an appeal hearing for Guus Kouwenhoven, who was originally convicted in 2006 of breaching a U.N. arms embargo by trading weapons for timber in Liberia from 2000-2003. He was sentenced then to eight years’ imprisonment, but successfully appealed.
The Dutch Supreme Court in 2010 ordered a fresh appeal hearing, ruling that prosecutors should have been allowed to present two anonymous witnesses during the trial.
In a written statement, prosecutors allege that Kouwenhoven contributed to atrocities in Liberia by “again and again delivering weapons and ammunition to Charles Taylor and his forces.”
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