The Hague – Former Liberian President Charles Taylor was today sentenced to 50 years in jail by the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) sitting here.
He was found guilty last month of aiding and abetting rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone during the 1991-2002 civil war.
Justice Richard Lussick, who read out the judgement, said the Trial Chamber found that Mr. Taylor's abuse of his position as President of Liberia to aid and abet the commission of crimes in Sierra Leone, and the abuse of his position as a member of the ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] Committee of Five [later Six], which was “part of the process relied on by the international community to bring peace to Sierra Leone,” was “an aggravating factor of great weight”.
The Judges took into account the report of Mr. Taylor's good conduct in detention, but otherwise rejected a number of mitigating factors proposed by the defence.
While the jurisprudence of the SCSL and other tribunals “holds that aiding and abetting as a mode of liability generally warrants a lesser sentence than that imposed for more direct forms of participation,” Justice Lussick said that Mr. Taylor's leadership role “puts him in a class of his own”.
“The Trial Chamber wishes to underscore the gravity it attaches to Mr. Taylor's betrayal of the public trust,” Justice Lussick said.
“In the Trial Chamber's view, this betrayal outweighs the distinctions that might otherwise pertain to the modes of liability discussed above.”`
The parties, if they intend to appeal, must submit written notice to the Appeals Chamber within 14 days of today's sentencing judgement, setting forth the grounds of their appeal.
If Mr. Taylor loses the apeal he will serve his sentence in a British jail.
The trial of Mr. Taylor opened on 4 June 2007 here after it was moved from Freetown where the authorities felt his presence in the region could lead to further instability in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The trial was adjourned immediately after the prosecution’s opening statement when Mr. Taylor dismissed his defence team and requested new representation.
Witness testimony began on 7 January 2008, and ended on 12 November 2010.
Closing arguments took place in February and March 2011.
The Court heard live testimony from 94 Prosecution witnesses, and received written statements from four additional witnesses.
The defence presented 21 witnesses, with Mr. Taylor testifying in his defence.
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