Celebrity Mound

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor’s defense lawyers on Monday opposed a request by prosecutors at his war crimes trial to call supermodel Naomi Campbell as a witness, branding the move “a publicity stunt.”

Prosecutors earlier this month filed a motion seeking to have Campbell subpoenaed to testify about claims Taylor gave her “blood diamonds” at a reception in South Africa in 1997.

But Taylor’s lawyers said the evidence was “tangential to the real issues” against Taylor and said prosecutors were trying to introduce it too late in the trial – 15 months after they closed their case.

“For the prosecution to present such inferential evidence at this advanced stage, as part of an obvious publicity stunt, would bring the administration of justice into serious disrepute,” Taylor’s British lawyer Courtenay Griffiths wrote to judges.

According to the prosecution motion seeking a subpoena, Campbell told prosecutors through her lawyer she does not want to get involved in the case and is concerned for her safety.

Prosecutors want Campbell to testify about Taylor’s alleged gift of diamonds along with actress Mia Farrow and another witness, Carole White, who were both at the same reception in South Africa.

In a written statement to the court, Farrow said Campbell told her that two or three men woke her up and “presented her with a large diamond which they said was from Charles Taylor.”

White says she heard Taylor say he was going to give Campbell diamonds and saw them being delivered.

Prosecutors say Campbell’s testimony would provide “direct evidence of the accused’s possession of rough diamonds from a witness unrelated to the Liberian or Sierra Leone conflicts.”

Taylor, once one of West Africa’s most powerful men, is charged with 11 counts of murder, torture, rape, sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers and terrorism in his role backing rebels in Sierra Leone’s 1991-2002 civil war.

An estimated 500,000 people were the victims of killings, systematic mutilation or other atrocities in that war, with some of the worst crimes committed by child soldiers who were drugged to desensitize them.

It is unclear when judges will rule on the prosecution request.

Naomi Campbell recently revealed that she diets on a cocktail of Maple syrup, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and water.

And the supermodel – who turns 40 later this month – put the results of her incredibly strict regime on show in a striped bikini as she holidayed in Miami yesterday.

She looked trim and lean as she frolicked aboard a luxury yacht with her boyfriend, Russian multi-millionaire Vladislav Doronin.

Naomi famously claimed in 1999 that she ‘never diets’, but more than a decade on she confessed on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show that maintaining her slim frame isn’t easy.

She revealed she regularly turns to the extreme Maple Syrup Diet, which involves consuming under 600 calories a day.

‘I try to do this three times a year,’ she said. ‘The most I’ve ever done it for is 18 days. It’s good just to clean out your body once in a while.’

Naomi’s devotion to the diet is fully supported by her longterm partner.

Indeed, Mr Doronin, whom she calls her fitness guru, has been an ally in helping her resist the temptations of food.

‘If there is bread on the table, he’s like: “Don’t eat bread”,’ she said.

The Maple Syrup Diet is considered one of the most extreme and potentially dangerous weight-loss regimes.

Fans of the diet, which essentially involves consuming only sugary water for days on end, say the combination of maple syrup and cayenne pepper speeds up the metabolism.

Beyonce Knowles and Gwyenth Paltrow are both known to have used the method to quickly shed extra weight.

But the daily intake of under 600 calories – a third of the recommended amount for a woman – means it is low on energy.

The syrupy water is also almost devoid of the protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals needed to keep the mind and body healthy.

The supermodel’s boyfriend, Russian millionaire Vladislav Doronin, has been speaking about their plans to tie the knot, revealing fashion designer-and-magazine editor Dasha Zhukova – the partner of Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich – will be bridesmaid.

Online newspaper life.ru quoted the 47-year-old business tycoon as saying: “I can’t say it took us long to decide who will be bridesmaid.

“We are good friends with Dasha, she is a wonderful person and talented designer. So she will be next to Naomi at our wedding.”

Vladislav did not hint at a possible date for the nuptials and did not give away any further details.

Naomi’s spokesperson has previously laughed off speculation the couple are engaged.

Her representative said in January: “Naomi is not engaged nor has any plans to wed.”

It is believed Vladimir is currently still married to Ekaterina, the mother of his teenage daughter Katia.

Naomi, 39, and Vladislav – who is nicknamed the ‘Donald Trump of Russia’ in his home country – began dating in 2008.

Shortly after they got together, it was reported the businessman was so smitten with Naomi he bought her a $18.5 million penthouse in Brazil.

A source said at the time: “Naomi told Vladislav how much she loved Brazil and that she really wanted to settle down there. So he bought her the apartment, and said it was a gift for her. They will use it as their base when they are in Brazil together.”

The driver who accused supermodel Naomi Campbell of assaulting him said Thursday through his lawyer that he “got angry and overreacted” and regrets involving the police.

“This whole thing has been blown out of proportion and I apologize to Ms. Campbell for causing that to happen,” driver Miodrag Mejdina said.

Mejdina told police Tuesday that Campbell hit him from behind and his head struck the steering wheel of the car, causing bruising under his right eye. He pulled over in midtown Manhattan and got out to speak to a traffic agent, who alerted police. Campbell was not at the scene when officers arrived, police said.

Police consulted with the Manhattan district attorney’s office and issued a harassment report, which doesn’t carry any penalty, because no officer witnessed what took place between the driver and Campbell. The 27-year-old Mejdina decided not to press charges.

Campbell, whose feisty temper has led to previous legal troubles, issued a statement saying she was pleased that Mejdina had apologized and that she wanted to move on.

“I have worked very hard on correcting my previous wrongdoings and I will not be held hostage to my past,” she said.

Campbell, 39, has faced a series of lawsuits and criminal cases accusing her of attacking her household employees and two police officers at London’s Heathrow Airport.

She pleaded guilty in the Heathrow case in June 2008 after prosecutors said she cursed, kicked and spat at police in a rage over a missing piece of luggage; she was sentenced to 200 hours of community service.

She also did a week of community service sweeping floors and scrubbing toilets in a Manhattan garbage-truck garage in 2007 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault for hurling a cell phone at her maid because of a vanished pair of jeans.

In 2000, Campbell pleaded guilty in Toronto to an assault charge for beating an assistant who said the model whacked her on the head with a phone.

A few of Campbell’s former aides and maids have sued her, accusing her of violent outbursts; some cases have been settled on undisclosed terms.

Campbell, of Britain, became one of the world’s highest-paid models after being discovered at age 15.