Former Liberian president Charles Taylor has been sentenced to 50 years prison following his landmark conviction for supporting rebels in Sierra Leone who murdered and mutilated thousands during their country’s brutal civil war.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone found Mr. Taylor guilty last month on 11 charges of aiding and abetting the rebels who went on a bloody rampage during the decade-long war that ended in 2002 with more than 50,000 dead.
The 64-year-old warlord-turned-president became the first former head of state convicted by an international war crimes court since the Second World War.
Prosecutors asked judges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone to impose an 80-year sentence; Mr. Taylor’s lawyers urged judges to hand down a sentence that offered him some hope of release before he dies, the Associated Press reports.
Taylor will serve his sentence in a British prison.
He is expected, however, to appeal his convictions and will likely remain in jail in The Hague while the appeals process plays out.
At a sentencing hearing earlier this month, Mr. Taylor expressed “deepest sympathy” for the suffering of victims of atrocities in Sierra Leone, but insisted he had acted to help stabilize the West Africa region and claimed he never knowingly assisted in the commission of crimes.
“What I did … was done with honour,” he said. “I was convinced that unless there was peace in Sierra Leone, Liberia would not be able to move forward.”
However, judges ruled that Mr. Taylor armed and supplied the rebels in full knowledge they would likely use weapons to commit terrible crimes, in exchange for payments of “blood diamonds” often obtained by slave labour.
Prosecutors said there was no reason for leniency, given the extreme nature of the crimes, Mr. Taylor’s “greed” and misuse of his position of power.
“The purposely cruel and savage crimes committed included public executions and amputations of civilians, the display of decapitated heads at checkpoints, the killing and public disembowelment of a civilian whose intestines were then stretched across the road to make a check point, public rapes of women and girls, and people burned alive in their homes,” prosecutor Brenda Hollis wrote in a brief appealing for the 80-year sentence.
Taylor stepped down and fled into exile in Nigeria after being indicted by the court in 2003. He was finally arrested and sent to the Netherlands in 2006.
While the Sierra Leone court is based in that country’s capital, Freetown, Mr. Taylor’s trial is being staged in Leidschendam, a suburb of The Hague, Netherlands, for fear holding it in West Africa could destabilise the region.
I love Mmembe and im so jealous of him.The man has cash and he is so handsome.Bembas are sedusive wow!
justice has finally be served Justice for the widows,widowers and orphans of sierra leone.This tyrant should have be put or sentenced to death.It would have been better to close the chapter but yet he will be enjoying a british jail and his family can visit his a s s.Viva sierra leone viva!!
I meant Viva Liberia Viva.My bad!!
Let us see how you will enjoy the blood diamonds of liberia behind bars?How can he be up graded to a british jail??That is a top class jail where they even have a fruit a day??Not fair,he should serve in his land and mingle with locals and squat in a hole whe releasing himself.
Justice,when justice has to prevail not even diamonds can save you..watch out for the long arm of the law all you would be offenders..
At least on British taxpayer otherwise in Liberia he will be on Liberia taxpayer which is unfair.But Tony B and George B should be tried too.They killed more civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, dubbed the killings as collateral damage.The drones kill more civilians than terrorists.
Ganja farmer like the name lol…
That chap surely deserves more than his been handed…he should count his blessings otherwise if it was Africa,,he would have hanged!!!
When i was watchng bbc as they pass on judgement i said,yes this is justice
Life is not fair we thought God has answered our prayers by bringing Liato in chimbokaila .
Gentlemen you are not fair ,bring him back we want to screw his ass again.
Let justice prevail and good let this evil man die behind bars and let him enjoy his money they in jail and i want this also to happen to lupiya banda him he has stolen alot for this country and others to learn from them because he is not alone what this evil people can do to the poor you cant like it.ilyashi lyalula ba Charles Taylor 50 years he will come out when he will be 114 years very good die there.
mutanikeni,mutanikeni !
This is welcome so that all the greed politicians can learn something. But then like Henry K pointed out, what about George en Tony Blair? These two idiots caused so much pain in the families of people from Afgan en Irag. But nothing has happened to then.
Let justice reign and deter any other leader from using political power to rob others of their God-given right to life. But the ICC must be seen to transparent and consistent; What about George Bush who massacred more innocent lives in Iraq and found no weapons of mass distruction on the premise of which the invasion was based?
next it will be “sekuru” from Zim.
Yes, Taylor will have to be locked in till he is 114yrs old. Is there any chance of recovering some of the nation’s wealth?
Ba Liato make sure you squeel like a pig on heat on all your fellow ‘money farmers’ or else the higher court will award you even more years in that shit-hole you sampled for 40 hours.
So, the wars Charles Taylor participated in were for diamonds. Where are the people who bought these diamonds? Obviously the diamonds were sold somewhere, where the guns were obtained from? I am not saying Charles deserves lenience. I am saying this is justice half served until the Westerners who supplied arms for diamonds are also brought to book. Fuck Wesytrn Hypocrisy!!!
Tailor is not human coz if he is.He could hav not killed inocent souls.The Bible says;Wateva is bound on earth same even in heaven.Let him suffer the consquences of being selfish and evil.
I will marry his wife
Compare 50 years for the murderous Charles and 2 for potbellied Lusato, 3 days actually. Lord have mercy on my justice system!
if it is in that country njikwite nshalumbule where justices is 4 the rich only charles wud ve bin jailed 4 only 2 days and gets a bail
From jail to hail,the people he killed are waiting for him.
Justice!.I wish the Hague could introduce the death penalty cos that’s what he deserved!
this is wonderfull ‘n wish it was alaaa beee
At least he found the diamonds …. Bambi falifilwa ukusanga ama weapons of mass destruction
its not sentenced to 50yrs in prison but sentenced to death because the man is 64,+50=114.we will neva see him.ICC only works africa,wat of BUSH..
WAS IN SIERRA LEONE(KENEMA MANO JUNCTION)AND SAW WHAT THIS GUY ABETED AND SUPPORTED…IT BREAKS MY HEART…SHORT AND LONG SLEEVES…HE DESERVES MORE THAN THIS LET HIM ROT IN JAIL.INFACT HE SHOULD SERVE HIS JAIL TERM AT CHIMBOKAILA UYU SHITI.
kwashala ci dad cha ku ivory coast ci laurent fimofimo
Next Al Bashir for human right abuses,Captain Sanogo,Captain Blaise Compaore for the brutal murder of one Captain Thomas Sankara,Ruphiar Banda of Zambia forcrimes against the economy of Zambia,Bingu Mtharika posthumosely for human right abuses,the incumbet Syrian president for crimes against humanity and genocide,Mugabe Robert for human right abuse,Joseph Kabilafor conspiring to murdering his step fatrher president Desire Kabila,KangamePaul Major Gen for complicity in the 1994 genocide,Chiluba Fredrickfor human right abuse,theft by public servant,marriage interference.
to be continued.
he deserves it,wat else can we say.
Umodzi wa inu azandgulitsa..