Friday, May 4, 2012
UN-Backed Court at The Hague: Charles Taylor
This Monday, Aug. 11, 2003 file photo shows former Liberian president Charles Taylor, center, flanked by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, left, and President Joachim Chissano of Mozambique, right, as Taylor arrived into exile at Abuja international airport, Nigeria. On Thursday April 26, 2012, judges at an international war crimes passed judgment on warlord-turned-Liberian president Charles Taylor, who is accused of sponsoring rebels responsible for untold atrocities, including abetting murder, rape and the forced enlistment of child soldiers during Sierra Leone's brutal civil war in return for so-called blood diamonds. Taylor had been on trial at the UN-backed court in The Hague for almost five years. The historic verdicts at the Special Court for Sierra Leone will mark the first time an international tribunal has reached judgment in the trial of a former head of state since judges in Nuremberg convicted Karl Doenitz, a naval officer who briefly led Germany after Adolf Hitler's suicide. This week the United Nation Special court in The Hague, Netherlands convicted Taylor of war crimes against humanity and would serve 80-years in prison. Image: George Osodi/AP