News
Former Liberia president Charles Taylor guilty of war crimes
The ICC last year indicted Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi with crimes against humanity as he resorted to murdering and persecuting civilians to put down protests against his regime, but he was captured and killed by rebel fighters before he could face a court of law.
Mr. Taylor – who once received military training from Gadhafi’s regime – was indicted in 2003 on charges including murder, terrorizing civilians, rape, sexual slavery, and recruiting and using child soldiers during the Sierra Leone war that ended in 2002 after costing more than 50,000 lives. He was arrested in 2006 and flown to The Hague for trial.
Mr. Taylor’s is the final major trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, which has already convicted eight other rebel leaders.
The court’s headquarters and courtroom are in the capital, Freetown, but Mr. Taylor’s case was moved to The Hague after the UN Security Council voiced fears trying him in Sierra Leone could destabilize the West Africa region.
Jabati Mambu, whose right hand was hacked off by rebels more than 13 years ago attended the start of the trial and can’t wait for its conclusion.
“The trial is very important to all victims because it will help to heal our wounds,” he told The Associated Press in Freetown, the Sierra Leone capital where he lost his hand.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
