As the world enters a new age of accountability, CARL Welcomes Charles Taylor’s 50-year Jail Term
Freetown, Sierra Leone: The Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL) today hailed the 50-year jail term imposed on former Liberian President Charles Taylor as “The strongest message yet that the era of impunity for the ‘big men’ of Africa is coming to an end.” Charles Taylor was convicted on 11 counts of planning and aiding and abetting rebels who murdered and mutilated tens of thousands of people during Sierra Leone’s 11-year brutal civil.
“No matter how long Mr. Taylor gets to spend in jail, the lives that were prematurely and brutally terminated, the limbs that were hacked off, and the indignity and sexual enslavement which women and girls were subjected to during the war will never be restored or repaired. His trial and conviction, however, represents a vanguard for the new era of accountability that is emerging across the world. African leaders cannot afford to ignore this message,” CARL’s Executive Director Ibrahim Tommy said today.
Justice Richard Lussick, who read the verdict, said “Mr. Taylor’s leadership role puts him in a different class” than the other Special Court convicts, underscoring the responsibility political leaders have in protecting the lives and property of their people as well as in promoting regional and global peace. The Court also stated that Charles Taylor’s primary motivation for supporting the rebels was for financial gain, which it considered as an aggravating factor in sentencing.
“This is particularly heartwarming in light of the role of blood diamonds in fuelling the Sierra Leone conflict,” one amputee told CARL shortly after the verdict.
Even as we hail the outcome of the Taylor trial, CARL wishes to remind all and sundry that serious gaps still exist in terms of promoting accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law. CARL urges the international community to step up efforts at ensuring that those responsible for such violations in Africa and other parts of the world are brought to justice. “War victims, no matter their nationality or personal circumstances, share a common sense of deprivation, pain, anguish and indignity. They all deserve justice”, Mr. Tommy added.
Charles Taylor is the first former African head of state to be tried and convicted by an international criminal tribunal. Specifically, the Special Court’s Trial Chamber II found Mr. Taylor guilty of planning attacks on Kono and Makeni, as well as aid and betting the commission of crimes in the Western Area of Sierra Leone, including the capital, Freetown. Both the defence and prosecution have a right to appeal, but they must do so within fourteen days.
CARL, Freetown
Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
© 2012, https:. All rights reserved.
