At The Hague, former Liberian president Charles Taylor has taken the stand as the first defense witness in his war crimes trial. Taylor faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of international humanitarian law in connection with alleged backing of Sierra Leonean rebels. The allegations against Taylor include support for mutilation, sexual slavery, and sending children into combat. On Tuesday, Taylor denied the charges.

Charles Taylor: “It is quite incredible that such descriptions of me would come about, very, very, very unfortunate that the prosecution, because of disinformation, misinformation, lies, rumors, would associate me with such titles or descriptions. I am none of those, have never been and will never be, whether they think so or not.”

Taylor stepped down as Liberian president in 2003 after a fourteen-year civil war that killed at least 400,000 people and displaced millions more. He’s the first African leader to be tried for war crimes.