Saturday 8 September 2012

Charles Taylor

Charles Taylor is a former President of Liberia who served from 1997 until his resignation in 2003.In 2012 Taylor was convicted for war crimes by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and sentenced to 50 years in prison. Charles Taylor became the first African head of state to be convicted for his part in war crimes.

Details
During his term of office, Taylor was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity as a result of his involvement in the Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002). Domestically, opposition to his regime grew, culminating in the outbreak of the Second Liberian Civil War (1999-2003). By 2003, he had lost control of much of the countryside and was formally indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. That year, he resigned as a result of growing international pressure and went into exile in Nigeria. In 2006, the newly elected President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf formally requested his extradition, after which he was detained by UN authorities in Sierra Leone and then at the Penitentiary Institution Haaglanden in The Hague, awaiting trial.[8] He was found guilty in April 2012 of all eleven charges levied by the Special Court, including terror, murder and rape.[9] In May he was sentenced to 50 years in prison. 

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone is a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law" committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 and during the Sierra Leone Civil War

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2 comments:

  1. Hi,

    Just a small correction here - President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the Nobel Peace prize in 2011.

    Can't thank you enough for posting these notes! They are of immense help!

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  2. Oops! Thanks for the correction Anon. And its my pleasure entirely that the blog is useful. :)
    -Spurthi

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