LIEDSCHENDAM, Netherlands — More than a decade after fueling a murderous campaign of terror in Sierra Leone by supplying rebels with arms, Charles Taylor was definitively convicted and imprisoned Thursday for 50 years, in a ruling that finally delivered justice for victims.
The appeals chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone upheld the 65-year-old former Liberian president’s conviction on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including terrorism, murder, rape and using child soldiers.
Taylor is the first former head of state convicted by an international war crimes court since World War II and Thursday’s confirmation was welcomed as underscoring a new era of accountability for heads of state.
