Today, the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (external link) sentenced convicted former Liberian President Charles Ghankay Taylor to a term of 50 years in prison for planning and for aiding and abetting crimes committed by rebel forces in Sierra Leone during the country's decade-long civil war. These crimes included acts of terrorism, murder, rape, sexual slavery and conscripting or enlisting of child soldiers, among others. Taylor is the first former head of state to be convicted of war crimes by an international court since the Nuremburg trials after World War II. Typically aiding and abetting of crimes warrants a lesser sentence than that imposed for more direct forms of participation in the crimes, but this more severe sentence took into account Taylor’s leadership position as a head of state. “The Trial Chamber wishes to underscore the gravity it attaches to Mr. Taylor's betrayal of the public trust,” said Justice Richard Lussick when reading the judgment in court. At 64 years old, Taylor’s sentence essentially amounts to life in prison for him. Taylor’s legal team plans to appeal the sentence. Learn more (external link)
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