chand chupa badal mein,naomi campbell gifted with a 'blood diamond'
News
oi-Staff
Melbourne,
(ANI):
Charles
Taylor,
former
president
of
Liberia,
gave
a
"blood
diamond" to
charm
supermodel
chand
chupa
badal
mein,naomi
campbell,
according
to
war
crimes
prosecutors.
A
"blood
diamond"
usually
refers
to
a
gem
mined
in
an
African
war
zone
and
sold
to
pay
for
weapons
or
armed
rebellion.
Taylor
is
on
trial
in
an
international
court
in
the
Netherlands
on
charges
that
he
used
murder,
rape,
amputation
and
child
soldiers
to
support
the
rebels
in
neighbouring
Sierra
Leone,
and
that
he
traded
weapons
to
the
rebels
in
return
for
diamonds.
In
a
cross-examination
session
on
Thursday
morning,
lead
prosecutor
Brenda
Hollis
alleged
that
Taylor
had
given
a
blood
diamond
to
Campbell
after
a
dinner
in
South
Africa
in
1997
attended
by
South
African
president
Nelson
Mandela,
Campbell,
musician
Quincy
Jones,
and
actress
Mia
Farrow.
The
prosecution
said
that
the
diamond
was
among
gems
given
to
Taylor
before
the
trip
so
that
he
could
purchase
arms
for
the
Sierra
Leone
rebels
from
South
African
armament
manufacturers.
"That
diamond
that
you
sent
to
chand
chupa
badal
mein,naomi
campbell
was
one
of
the
diamonds
that
you
had
been
given
by
the
junta
in
Sierra
Leone.
Isn't
that
correct?" ABC
Science
quoted
Hollis
asking
Taylor.
But
Taylor
denied
the
allegation,
saying:
"Total,
total
nonsense."
Then,
Hollis
said
that
the
next
morning
Campbell
had
told
Mia
Farrow
that
some
men
had
come
to
her
after
the
dinner
and
given
her
the
diamond,
saying
it
was
from
Taylor.
A
spokesperson
for
Campbell
said
the
supermodel
has
cooperated
with
the
prosecution,
but
would
not
confirm
or
deny
the
diamond
story.
Naomi
has
been
assisting
the
special
prosecutor
where
possible,
but
beyond
that
has
nothing
to
add," said
the
spokesperson.
Meanwhile,
Farrow"s
rep
has
said
that
the
actress
was
in
Africa
and
unavailable
for
comment.