Defence lawyers for Liberia's ex-President Charles Taylor are due to present their closing arguments at his war crimes trial at The Hague. Mr Taylor denies 11 counts, including murder, rape, and using child soldiers during the civil war in Sierra Leone. The trial at the special UN Court for Sierra Leone, which is entering its final phase, was delayed for several weeks over a legal wrangle. Last week, the defence team won its appeal to file its final brief. It had missed its January deadline because it said new evidence had came to light. Mr Taylor is the first former African head of state to be tried by an international tribunal. 'Peace broker' He is accused of arming and controlling the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels during a 10-year campaign of terror conducted largely against civilians. The RUF became infamous for hacking off the limbs of their victims, and using rape and murder to terrorise the population. The defence has argued that Mr Taylor tried to broker peace in Sierra Leone at the request of regional powers. He is accused of selling "blood diamonds" for the rebels, in return for supplying them with weapons. Last year supermodel Naomi Campbell and actress Mia Farrow were summoned to give evidence at the trial. The prosecution was trying to establish a link between Mr Taylor and a number of uncut diamonds that Miss Campbell said she had been given in South Africa in 1997. The Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague has heard from more than 100 witnesses in what is the first international trial of an African former head of state. The trial has already lasted more than three years and the judges are expected to deliver a verdict later in the year. If convicted, Mr Taylor would serve a prison sentence in the UK. Source: BBC