As the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor continues in Hague, the plot of the illegal diamonds thickens. After a forced testimony last week by model Naomi Campbell, it was actress Mia Farrow’s turn to take the stand and tell the story of the uncut diamonds Campbell received in 1997 in South Africa delivered by two men that the supermodel thought to be a gift from Charles Taylor. Farrow claimed the events occurred differently than Campbell initially described them.
The said diamonds are believed to be part of the “blood diamond” trade Taylor is on trial for taking part in. The trade involved supplying weapons to rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in return for uncut diamonds such as those received by Naomi Campbell.
Mia Farrow took the stand today to portray a different course of events, stating that Campbell’s recollection of the incident was inaccurate. While the model claimed she was not taken with her gift, calling the diamonds “dirty-looking stones”, Farrow describes a woman excited about what she had received and quite aware of what they were.
American actress Mia Farrow says she heard British supermodel Naomi Campbell tell people she had received a “huge diamond” from former Liberian President Charles Taylor.
Farrow told Taylor’s war crimes trial in The Hague Monday that she remembered the supermodel as being “quite excited” about the diamond when she came to breakfast the morning after a 1997 charity dinner in South Africa.
Naomi Campbell together with her friends, actress Mia Farrow and the model’s former agent Carole White. attended the charity dinner hosted by former South African president Nelson Mandela to benefit his children’s fund. After receiving the gift, excited about it or not, Campbell did not keep them, and according to her statements to the court, gave them to the then-director of the fund, Jeremy Ratcliffe, as a donation.Ratcliffe kept the diamonds but did not accept them as a donation as he did not want to involve the fund in potentially illegal activities. The diamonds are now in the custody of the South African police.
This new testimony is bound to leave powerful traces on Campbell’s reputation, as Mia Farrow accused her of distorting the truth. Next on stand will be Carole White, who is expected to validate one story or the other. Or who knows, maybe White will tell the story of a different course of events.
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