Sierra Leone: Hinga Norman rejects jurisdiction of Special Court

Sam Hinga Norman, the former leader of a pro-government militia group in Sierra Leone, said on Tuesday that he rejected the right of a UN-backed Special Court to try him for war crimes and urged its judges to disregard any prosecution evidence brought before them. Hinga Norman sacked his team of defence lawyers at the start of proceedings on 3 June, only to be told by the court last week that he would not be allowed to conduct his own defence.