Liberia’s warlord Charles Ganaka Taylor, yesterday, lost his battle to upturn a 50-year jail sentence handed down to him in May 2012 by the UN-backed special court in The Hague, the Netherlands.
The former Liberian President, who launched 11 year civil war on Liberia was sentenced for aiding rebels who committed atrocities in Sierra Leone during its civil war.
Taylor, 65, was found to have supplied weapons to the Revolutionary United Front rebels in exchange for a constant flow of so-called blood diamonds.
He was found guilty at his trial of 11 crimes including terrorism, rape, murder and the use of child soldiers by rebel groups in neighbouring Sierra Leone during the vicious civil war of 1991-2002.
Taylor became the first former head of state convicted by an international war crimes court since World War II. His lawyers had argued that there were legal errors during his trial.
The court’s decision has been closely watched because the guilty verdict was hailed as a landmark, proving that even people at the highest level of power can be held to account. Taylor has always insisted he is innocent and his only contact with the rebels was to urge them to stop fighting.
Judge Richard Lussick said at his trial that they were “some of the most heinous crimes in human history.” Taylor appeared impassive in court as the judge upheld his convictions and 50-year sentence.
In its ruling, the special court said that Mr Taylor’s personal conduct had a “significant effect on the commission of crimes in Sierra Leone.”
It said that he unleashed a campaign of terror against the Sierra Leonean opposition “using terror as its modus operandi”.
“The Appeals Chamber is of the opinion that the sentence imposed by the trial chamber is fair in the light of the totality of the crimes committed,” Judge King said.
Charles Taylor listened intently in court, as his appeal against his conviction for war crimes was rejected point by point. Dressed in a dark suit and light yellow tie, he began taking notes in the back of a small desk diary.
But he wrote less as it became clear that his appeal was going to be unsuccessful. At one stage, there was a small shake of the head as the chief judge outlined the wide range of Mr Taylor’s support for rebel groups in Sierra Leone.
He stood to hear a summary of the appeal decision, his hands resting on the desk below him. But there was no other visible display of emotion, even when the judge listed some of the horrific crimes for which he has been convicted, crimes that had ‘shocked the conscience of mankind’.
Taylor is now expected immediately to serve his sentence in a foreign jail. The UK has offered to accept him at a British prison – other possible destinations include Sweden or Rwanda. It is likely to take about a week to organise his transfer from The Hague.
Presidential spokesman Unisa Sesay told the BBC: “The end of the Charles Taylor trial presents a final closure to a long and sad episode in our nation’s history.
“It’s fair and open nature, although torturous, is a practical demonstration of accountability and rule of law in state governance.”
In a statement Amnesty International said that it sent a clear message to leaders across the world that no-one is immune from justice.
“The conviction of those responsible for crimes committed during Sierra Leone’s conflict has brought some measure of justice for the tens of thousands of victims,” said Stephanie Barbour, head of Amnesty’s Centre for International Justice in The Hague.
vanguard
No comments:
Post a Comment