Skip to main content

Liberia: Is Charles Taylor Free?

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor


Officials of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL) have denied a rumor circulating on social media to the effect that former President Charles Taylor has been released from prison.
Mr. Taylor, now 70, was sentenced in May 2012, to 50 years in jail at age 64, by the then UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), after being found guilty of aiding and abetting rebels in Sierra Leone during the 1991-2002 civil war in that country.
In an email to this paper on Wednesday December 19, 2018, Mr. Peter C. Andersen, Press officer of the RSCSL, which is an offshoot of the SCSL told the New Dawn that the news is false and that Mr. Taylor is continuing to serve his 50-year sentence for war crimes against humanity.
During the trial the prosecution had wanted an 80-year prison term to reflect the severity of the crimes and the key role that Taylor had in facilitating the rebels, while his defense team had hoped that judges would had taken into consideration the fact that Taylor has a family and is a father of 14 children and an educated man.
The RSCSL, official comment comes amid public concerns and concerns from former witnesses of the UN back war crimes court that Mr. Taylor had been released.Mr. Taylor, according to judges at the then UN-backed tribunal sitting in The Hague said his leadership role and exploitation of the conflict to extract so-called “blood diamonds” meant he deserved one of the longest prison sentences handed down so far by the court.
The former Liberian President, whose estranged wife is the current Vice President of Liberia was convicted in April 2012 on 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity, when supporting rebels between 1996 and 2002 in return for conflict gems.
The crimes included murder, rape, sexual slavery, recruiting child soldiers, enforced amputations and pillage.
Taylor’s conviction was upheld on September 26, 2013, following a failed appeal three weeks after he was transferred from The Hague to a UK prison.In June 2014, a challenge by Mr. Taylor’s lawyers against his incarceration in UK was overturned on January 30, 2015, by the Residual Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL), which took over the mandate of the SCSL in December 2013.
Taylor’s defense team had argued that the United Kingdom violated his international human rights when the government denied his wife and children visas to visit. They cited international standards of detention in UN resolutions, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and UK law, the defense said that Taylor’s right to a family life has been violated.They had further argued one of the most basic conditions of humane detention is that a prisoner be allowed to have contact with family members while in custody.

-Writes Othello B. Garblah

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

President George Weah's One Day National Forum Successfully Attended by 26 Political Parties

On Thursday, August 8, 2018, President George Weah had a sit down with 26 political parties of Liberia.  The meeting aimed at advancing ideals that promote the spirit of national unity and political tolerance between opposition political parties and the government.  ANC, LP and UP attended the meeting as a team. According to Deputy Minister Eugene L. Fahngon, Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs at Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism, all 26 political parties attended and participated from start to finish.  Even though, social media was buzzing about AB Dillion walking out of the meeting, he walked out as an individual and not a political party, "the invitation was extended to political parties and not to individuals," Minister Fahngon stated in his live video.  Each political party gave ideals and recommendations, which made the meeting a great success.  According to  Deputy Minister Fahngon, "there will be future engagements as such.&quo

What President Trump and Kim Jong Un Ate

The historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continued midday Tuesday, as the leaders satisfied their appetites while holding negotiations with a contingent of advisers over a working lunch. The lunch, which followed a 45-minute one-on-one meeting between the leaders earlier in the morning and bilateral discussion with senior aides, was held at the Capella Hotel on Singapore’s Sentosa Island. It was far from an intimate affair, with each leader accompanied by a bevy of senior staff, according to the White House. Joining Trump were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Advisor John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Deputy Assistant to the President for Asian Affairs Matthew Pottinger. Kim was accompanied by Kim Yong Chol , the former spy chief and one of North Korea’s chief negotiators, as well as Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, former

Snapchat Slammed for Domestic Violence Meme Featuring Rihanna and Chris Brown

If Kylie Jenner ‘s stock-plummeting Snapchat rant didn’t make you delete the app, maybe this will. Over the weekend, Snapchat found itself in hot water after a now-deleted domestic violence meme featuring Rihanna and Chris Brown went viral. The meme, which was an advertisement for the app “Would You Rather,” asked users whether they would prefer to “slap Rihanna” or “punch Chris Brown.” Almost immediately, screenshots of the ad appeared on Twitter, with many criticizing Snapchat for making light of domestic violence. Is it just me, or is this ad that popped up on my Snapchat extremely tone deaf? Like what were they thinking with this? pic.twitter.com/7kP9RHcgNG — Royce Mann (@TheRoyceMann) March 12, 2018 Many considered the ad a mockery of Rihanna’s experience with domestic violence. In 2009, Brown was arrested and charged for physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna hours before she was to perform at the Grammy awards. Since the incident, Rihanna has spo