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Thursday, 5 August 2010

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Naomi Campbell: I had no idea I was given blood diamonds

The supermodel gives evidence at war crimes tribunal

Naomi Campbell has been giving evidence in The Hague

Naomi Campbell told a war crimes tribunal in The Hague today that, after a charity event in South Africa hosted by Nelson Mandela in 1997, she was woken in the middle of the night.

Men working for former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor delivered an unexpected present.

‘I was sleeping and had a knock at the door that woke me up. Two men were there and they gave me a pouch and said: "A gift for you",' Naomi, 40, told the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone.

'I went back to bed. I looked into the pouch the next morning. I saw a few stones, they were very small, dirty-looking stones.'

The supermodel has been summoned to court by prosecutors who allege that Charles Taylor received blood diamonds from Sierra Leone rebels and used them to buy weapons during his 1997 trip to South Africa.

'I didn't know anything about Charles Taylor before,' Naomi continued. 'I had never heard of Liberia before. I had never heard the term blood diamonds before.'

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