NETHERLANDS: 50-year war crimes prison sentence for ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor is welcomed by Sierra Leoneans at The Hague

Record ID: 572992

  • Title: NETHERLANDS: 50-year war crimes prison sentence for ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor is welcomed by Sierra Leoneans at The Hague
  • Date: 31st May 2012
  • Summary: THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS (MAY 30, 2012) (REUTERS) DEMONSTRATORS WALKING HOLDING BANNERS DEMONSTRATORS HOLDING BANNER SAYING 'SIERRA LEONE CENTRAL UNION' DEMONSTRATORS WITH BANNERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEMONSTRATOR ABUDAKAR KOROME SAYING: "The judges have created a kind of landmark decision, as far as I am concerned. As I said we were expecting more, the 80 years. But now we have to respect the outcome as well, the 50 years." BANNER SAYING: 'BLOOD DIAMONDS ARE NOT FOREVER. THEY CAME AT A COST TAYLOR' (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEMONSTRATOR ABUDAKAR KOROME SAYING: "The Taylor trial, or the conviction of Charles Taylor, will serve as a deterrence to not only to the people of Sierra Leone, but to Africa as a whole, to other leaders who might be tempted to do the same thing. They will think about the effect of the law and to be more specific, for people of Sierra Leone, this is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. We are expecting this kind of thing. And the fact that it has taken place, we are satisfied." VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS EXTERIOR OF COURT
  • Embargoed: 15th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Netherlands
  • Country: Netherlands
  • Topics: Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVA7XB4ZPAL82PA81KJZBDZMCMKV
  • Story Text: Sierra Leoneans in the Hague welcomed on Wednesday (May 30) the sentencing of former Liberian President Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison for helping Sierra Leonean rebels wage a savage war.
    Taylor, 64, was the first head of state convicted by an international court since the Nazi trials after World War Two and the sentence set a precedent for the emerging system of international justice.
    Although shorter than the 80 years that prosecutors had sought, the sentence set a precedent for an international justice system aimed at deterring future war crimes. The court rejected all the defence's appeals for leniency.
    In an 11-year war that ended in 2002, Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front rebels murdered, raped and mutilated their way across Liberia's West African neighbour, helped by Taylor as he profited from a trade in so-called blood diamonds.
    Abudakar Korome originally from Sierra Leone, but now living in the Netherlands, welcomed the decision even though he was hoping for a longer sentence.
    "The Taylor trial, or the conviction of Charles Taylor, will serve as a deterrence to not only to the people of Sierra Leone, but to Africa as a whole, to other leaders who might be tempted to do the same thing. They will think about the effect of the law and to be more specific, for people of Sierra Leone, this is something of a self fulfilling prophecy. We are expecting this kind of thing. And the fact that it has taken place, we are satisfied, " Abudakar Korome said.
    Taylor is due to serve his sentence at a high security prison in Britain. Both sides are expected to appeal.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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