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Prosecutors hoping to nail former Liberian president Charles Taylor for war crimes at a U.N.-backed court have asked judges to subpoena supermodel Naomi Campbell as a witness, reports the Associated Press. In a motion filed Thursday, prosecutors say they want Campbell to testify about uncut diamonds Taylor allegedly gave to her in South Africa in 1997. They say the runway diva told prosecutors through her lawyer that she was “concerned for her safety” and “did not want to involve herself in the case.”
Prosecutors claim Taylor gave arms and ammunition to brutal rebels during Sierra Leone’s civil war in exchange for diamonds. He denies the allegations. The prosecution is also seeking testimony from Mia Farrow, who claims Campbell told her about the alleged diamond gift. Farrow said she and Campbell were both guests at the home of South African president Nelson Mandela, where Taylor was also visiting. She said Campbell described in detail a middle of the night visit from two of Taylor’s men. “She said during the night, some men had knocked at her door and she, half asleep, had opened the door and it was representatives of President Charles Taylor and that they had given her a huge diamond,” Farrow told ABC News. “We were like, ‘oh my gosh.’”
No charges for Naomi Campbell in Driver Incident. It wasn’t a cab driver but rather a “chauffeur” who accused the supermodel of beating him from the back seat of a luxury SUV before she hopped out and ran off. The Associated Press reports that police consulted with the Manhattan district attorney’s office and issued a harassment report against the tempermental catwalk queen, which doesn’t carry any penalty. Arrests are unlikely in the case, authorities said. Earlier Tuesday, the driver – who had been hired to drive Campbell around New York City – told police she hit him from behind and his head struck the steering wheel of the black Cadillac Escalade, causing bruising under his right eye. He pulled over in midtown Manhattan and got out to speak to a traffic agent, who alerted police. The chauffeur, who also drives Campbell’s boyfriend, decided not to pursue the matter criminally. It’s unclear if he would pursue it in civil court. Campbell was not at the scene when officers arrived, police said. She did not speak to police, but her assistant went to the station house where the driver gave his account. A spokesman for Campbell, who has previously pleaded guilty to assaulting people hired to work for her, said she would cooperate with police. “There shouldn’t be a rush to judgment,” spokesman Jeff Raymond said. “Naomi will cooperate voluntarily, and there is more to the story than meets the eye.” The 27-year-old driver, apparently hired just for the day, told police he picked Campbell up at a Manhattan hotel and was taking her to Astoria Studios, a TV and film studio complex in Queens, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said.