Charles Taylor defence trial set to start July 13

AMSTERDAM, July 6 (Reuters) - The defence phase of the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor on war crimes charges will start on July 13, judges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone ruled on Monday.

Following the opening statement Taylor will take the stand as the first defence witness, which is expected to be either that afternoon or the following morning.

Taylor, 61, has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts involving murder, rape, conscripting child soldiers and sexual slavery during the intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, in which more than 250,000 people were killed.

Defence lawyers have said Taylor should be acquitted because there was no evidence he planned or instigated atrocities in Sierra Leone, but judges rejected that last month.

Prosecutors say he directed the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in a campaign of terror against civilians.

The prosecution closed its case in February.

Taylor has been on trial in The Hague since June 2007 at facilities provided by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Prosecutors say he sought to control Sierra Leone's diamond mines and destabilise its government to boost his regional influence. (Reporting by Svebor Kranjc, writing by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Jon Boyle)