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Subscribe to RSSThe International Criminal Court at the Hague has found former Liberian President Charles Taylor guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity by supporting brutal rebels responsible for countless atrocities in the 1991-2002 Sierra Leone civil war. ITV's Paul Brand reports.
Updated at 8:01 a.m. ET: THE HAGUE -- In a historic ruling, a U.N.-backed court on Thursday convicted ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor of war crimes during a conflict that left 50,000 dead.
Taylor, 64, was charged with murder, rape, conscripting child soldiers and sexual slavery during intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. However, the court found him guilty of only some of the charges.
Taylor is the first head of state convicted by an international court since the post-World War II Nuremberg military tribunal.
The tribunal found Taylor guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity by supporting notoriously brutal rebels in return for "blood diamonds."
Presiding Judge Richard Lussick said the warlord-turned-president provided arms, ammunition, communications equipment and planning to rebels responsible for countless atrocities in the 1991-2002 Sierra Leone civil war. Lussick called the support "sustained and significant."
Echoes of a war: A journey around Sierra Leone
Taylor stood and showed no emotion as Lussick delivered the guilty verdicts at the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
While judges convicted him of aiding and abetting atrocities by rebels, they cleared him of direct command responsibility, saying he had no direct control over the rebels he supported.
Lussick scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 16 and said sentence would be passed two weeks later.
The Associated Press reported that thousands celebrated in Sierra Leone after learning that Taylor had been convicted. Countless survivors of the civil war bear emotional and physical scars from the war. Rebels hacked off the limbs of many of their victims.
Human rights advocates say the case is a reminder that even the most powerful do not enjoy impunity.
Taylor, who was president of Liberia from 1997 to 2003, was accused of backing and giving orders to Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in the 11-year civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone.
'Murder and mayhem'
The prosecution alleged the RUF undermined a ceasefire agreement in 1999, prolonging the war for another three years, and that Taylor financed their war effort with the proceeds of "blood diamonds" mined illegally in Sierra Leone.
"The Taylor verdict is a watershed moment," Richard Dekker, head of the international justice program at Human Rights Watch, said before the tribunal announced its decision. "As president, Taylor is believed to have been responsible for so much murder and mayhem which unfolded in Sierra Leone. His was a shadow that loomed across the region, in the Ivory Coast, in Sierra Leone and Liberia."
Issouf Sanogo / AFP - Getty Images, file
A young Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighter poses near Freetown, Sierra Leone, on May 25, 1997.
Taylor denied all of the charges.
The crimes of the RUF were not in doubt. Courts have earlier convicted RUF fighters of crimes against humanity, including rape, torture and terrorism.
Civilians were mutilated during the conflict, their arms being cut off above the hand (known by fighters as "long sleeves") or above the elbow ("short sleeves").
Pregnant women shot
Trial witnesses described seeing children and pregnant women being shot, disemboweled or mutilated in a process aimed at creating terror in the civilian population.
But the challenge was to link Taylor to these crimes.
"The accused never set foot in Sierra Leone when these crimes were being committed. He never directly, physically committed these crimes," Brenda Hollis, the court's chief prosecutor, told Reuters before the verdict.
"In a domestic case, you have to prove there was a murder, we have the added level of proving linkage."
This was the reason the supermodel Naomi Campbell was summoned to give testimony to the court in 2010.
Naomi Campbell delivered potentially critical evidence against former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor when she revealed he sent her a bag of rough diamonds after a dinner more than 10 years ago. NBC's Martin Fletcher discusses how this can affect the trial of a man who once denied ever dealing with the gemstone.
The prosecution alleged Taylor had sent uncut diamonds to her hotel room after a dinner given by former South African president Nelson Mandela, attended by both her and Taylor. She told the court she had no idea who had sent her the diamonds, which she called "dirty little pebbles."
Taylor is likely to appeal, meaning the trial could easily last for another six months.
Into the jungle on the hunt for Joseph Kony
Taylor is expected to serve time in a British maximum security prison. That will contrast sharply with the comparatively luxurious life Taylor enjoys in detention in The Hague. His case was moved there because of fears that his security could not be guaranteed in Sierra Leone.
In The Hague, Taylor has been free to mix with his fellow inmates and he has maintained "cordial" relations with his old enemy Laurent Gbagbo, the former Ivory Coast leader who faces charges of crimes against humanity.
Taylor has also been known to cook and compare defense briefs with Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.
As he awaited the verdict, he immersed himself in study of the Jewish faith, to which he converted before arriving in The Hague. He has regular visits from a rabbi and does not receive his lawyers on the Sabbath.
The Associated Press, Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
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50,000 deaths? And we're supposed to consider this guy a "War Criminal"? I'm sorry but the title "War Criminal" shouldn't be given out over a trifling 50,000 deaths.
If you want to talk War Criminal you need to show the title some respect. That little adventure in Cambodia, inspired by Henry Kissinger comes to mind. Now we're talking. Or how about that little thing in Iraq? Not that we intended to kill non-terrorists, it's just those damn civilians are always standing under where we drop bombs - not our fault.
By the by, I'm sure Charles Taylor didn't intentionally kill people - they were just collateral damage due to their own fault of standing to close to the terrorists Taylor was going after.
Bush and Cheney killed more, knowingly and willingly, in Iraq and Afghanistan than Charles Taylor ever could, or would have, in Sierra Leone.
Interestingly enough, the US government is notorious for supporting, financially and militarily, "brutal rebels" who commit atrocities all the time. When are our leaders going to go on trial for war crimes? Until then, these trials are all corrupt and should hold no weight in any sensible persons mind.
I am in total agreement with you. Until America can be a signatory member of the ICC to have its leaders prosecute for crime against humanity, I think all other countries must withdraw from the corrupt. It is as simple as that.
Well, quoter-1593970, LBJ has already met his maker. I think he's having it worst where he's at. If we can't prosecute the living in the form of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell; and if America is afraid to be a member of the ICC due to cowardliness, then America must stay away from prosecuting the leaders of a poor third world countries. I don't blame people like you. I only blame the African leaders. If the African leaders are smart, they will withdraw from the ICC until America can be a signatory member to have it leaders prosecuted; ICC vs Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell.
Presiding Judge Richard Lussick said the warlord-turned-president provided arms, ammunition, communications equipment and planning to rebels responsible for countless atrocities in the 1991-2002 Sierra Leone civil war. Lussick called the support "sustained and significant."
So didn't Obama and Holder also supply arms to the "narco-rebels" in the civil war in Mexico, where the recipients of these Fast & Furious weapons were responsible for countless atrocities there? Does this mean Obama and Holder can no longer travel to Netherlands?
Obama openly supplied arms to Libyan rebels. People got wounded and died in that conflict by the direct involvement of Obama. What Richard Lussick is going to say about that?
I am honestly strictly limited to and 100% bound by only non violent pure caring motivation for the my fellow white man. And furthermore I wish absolutely no harm to anyone which is surpassed only for my zeal that one day all human beings will live in freedom and harmony.
We the White man and the African Tribal leaders committed a horrible crime when the White Race bought slaves from African Chiefs. These African warlords betrayed their own people when they kidnapped, tortured and betrayed their own motivated only by their lust of Gold. When the White man conquered Africa education, technology, and White rule over the Black people brought many good, healthy and helpful benefits to all the African naitives. A White ruling order brought an end to thousands of years of backward ignorant violent black rule that enslaved their fellow Africans by Africans. This new White Race ruling order over Africans promised the African race all these wonderful blessings as long as the White Race was in its proper place through being the absolute ruler of all African nations. The reason why Africans were in bondage to ignorance, a total lack of modern technology, violence and corruption against their own people is genetically the Africans are incapable of ruling themselves. They are genetically limited in their intelligence. They even can not do the simplest technical acts for themselves. For the Africans did not know what indoor plumbing nor even what convient housing was until the White Race conquered Africa and brough these things to African Natives. The African Naitive was so ignorant for thousands and thousands of years and did not find liberation from this horrible plight until the era when the White Race conquered them.
When the White Race pulled out of Africa it did not take long for the Black African Genetics to fill the painful void left behind when the White Race decided to give back Africa to the Africans. For example, the Black African Natives instead of expanding their water works to all their cities and villages they dug up the copper pipes to sell to make a quick few dollars. They quickly through their genetically backward ignorance corrupted their villages and cities with high out of control violent crime and AIDS. They quickly corrupted their own children. Africa today desperately needs the White Race to bring back order to their nations. As far as genetics and the African-American we see entire cities and communities ruined and corrupted by the African-Americans. AIDS, Crime, Drug abuse, Drug manufacturing, Drug sales, violence, lack of education, no desire for education, baby black mommas having children out of wedlock at more than all races combined, laziness, corruption all due to the genetics the African-American inherited from their Black African ancestors. The only was out and the only way to improve the Black race is for them to breed with the white race which will make them superior to a pure bred African-American. The quickest way to improve on the plight that is plauging the Black Race is for them to be ruled by the superior White Race through and strictly limited to non violent means.
Happy late April's Fools Day! What is shocking is their are really sick twisted racist who actually believe what I wrote above!
Poor old Charlie Taylor....tried to woo that African Princess with those "dirty little pebbles" almost sounds sexual don't it....and Charlie old boy how did you become dumb enough to fall into this trap....Lord...Lord....Lord ...Lord...Lord..... you some of the dumbest people in the world
As a Liberian, it feels amazing that he finally gets to paid for what he did to our country. Personally I think he current living conditions are too nice. They should extend to him the same living arrangements he extended to us as we ran for our lives in a war so he could host parties for super models.
Now, if only the US would stand up FOR Justice, and prosecute the Bush administration for their War Crimes, or let the U.N. do it, since they're now wanted in so many countries. Invading other countries, causing civil wars that have gotten over 2,000,000 innocent men, women, and children killed, all to protect the Bush family's heroin empire in Afghanistan using the US military as their strongarm thug protection, and murdering Saddam Hussein for not paying Bush1 for all of our weapons that he illegally sold to him, are certainly criminal actions warranting a War Crimes trial followed by executions.
Hard to find any comfort in a world court that can only prosecute leaders from the weakest countries. Why don't they go after North Korea, starving millions of their own countrymen should qualify shouldn't it?
I highly cherish the ICC final ruling by finding Charles Taylor guilty. Let this
serve as message and reminder to other criminal minded leaders from across the world
that has the business of waging or causing wars to kill innocents. I
know soon and very other stubborn African leaders will follow Charles Taylor because
their sense of directions is distorted. Allah shall ruin all of your evil intentions
to kill and cause hungers for innocent and poor Africans.
Bravo ICC, May Allah Protect and direct you to right path. Ameen!!
I wonder just how many people would still be complaining how bad it is here in America if thay had to live in an African sewer like that with people randomly cutting off the limbs of family members just for the fun of it and raping ,and mutalating fellow towns folk under the direction of the local animal in charge AKA Charles Taylor.Al, Jessie , Please comment on this, America is listening?
Time to convict the Heartless Tricky Dick Cheney for war crimes.
Plain and simple: Blacks killing blacks. Yes it does happen. They are as prejudiced as any white man. Being black and not belonging to right tribe, makes you a target for other blacks. Plain and simple.
They have enough hate to go around without any other race being against them for one thing or another.
He's Obama's cousin.