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Court upholds 50-year Prison Sentence for former Liberian President, Charles Taylor
“Taylor’s conviction sends a powerful message that those at the top can be held to account on the gravest crimes,” said Elise Keppler of Human Rights Watch.
The court found Taylor provided crucial aid to rebels in Sierra Leone during that country’s 11-year civil war, which left an estimated 50,000 people dead before its conclusion in 2002.
Thousands more were left mutilated in a conflict that became known for its extreme cruelty, as rival rebel groups hacked off the limbs of their victims and carved their groups’ initials into opponents. The rebels developed gruesome terms for the mutilations, offering victims the choice of “long sleeves” or “short sleeves” – having their hands hacked off or their arms sliced off above the elbow.
Taylor was convicted not only of aiding and abetting Sierra Leone rebels from his seat of power in neighboring Liberia, but also for actually planning some of the attacks carried out by two Sierra Leone rebel groups – the Revolutionary United Front and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. In return he was given “blood diamonds” mined by slave laborers in Sierra Leone and gained political influence in volatile West Africa.
Prosecuting Taylor proved how hard it is to bring leaders to justice. He fled into exile in Nigeria after being indicted in 2003 and wasn’t arrested for three years. And while the Sierra Leone court is based in that country’s capital, Taylor’s trial was staged in the Netherlands for “fear it could destabilize the region.”
Arthur Saye, Charles Taylor’s brother-in-law, who monitored the verdict on television from his shop in Paynesville, Liberia, said he was not surprised at the ruling.
“From day one, my position has been that the trial of Mr. Taylor was orchestrated by the powers that be – the Western powers,” he told The Associated Press. “This was an international conspiracy; so I am not surprised or disappointed” by the verdict.
