Ex-president 'opposes Campbell testimony'

The Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor has urged prosecutors not to subpoena Naomi Campbell for testimony over an alleged blood diamond given to her by Taylor.

Taylor's lawyer Courtenay Griffiths said in a court document that the evidence proposed was "more appropriate for a screenplay than a courtroom hearing", reports The AP.

"Even if it were true that Mr Taylor gave Naomi Campbell a diamond as alleged by the prosecution, no reasonable trier of fact could make a link between this diamond exchange and the accused's support for the rebels in Sierra Leone as alleged in the indictment," Griffiths said.

Prosecutors also wanted to subpoena Mia Farrow and Campbell's former agent Carole White, who were reportedly willing to testify about the gem.

Taylor has been on trial for war crimes in The Hague since 2008.