Bantaba in Cyberspace
Bantaba in Cyberspace
Home | Profile | Register | Active Topics | Active Polls | Members | Private Messages | Search | FAQ | Invite a friend
Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

 All Forums
 Politics Forum
 Politics: World politics
 Charles Taylor guilty of aiding war crimes
 New Topic  Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
| More
Previous Page
Author Previous Topic Topic Next Topic
Page: of 2

Karamba



United Kingdom
3820 Posts

Posted - 30 May 2012 :  22:29:05  Show Profile Send Karamba a Private Message  Reply with Quote
day that other cruel leaders fall to the ground, those they have tormented will ever rejoice.

Karamba
Go to Top of Page

Karamba



United Kingdom
3820 Posts

Posted - 14 Oct 2012 :  21:24:02  Show Profile Send Karamba a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Karamba

After that brutal seizure of power by guns it was the treacherous Sierra Leone war that Yahya Jammeh relayed on Gambia TV to induce fear. Now that Taylor is benched this far, what is Jammeh waiting ? Many will tell you that Charles and Yahya shared Blood Diamond ties.

Now that his brother is settled by the law, will Jammeh brave the dock ?


Karamba
Go to Top of Page

Momodou



Denmark
11823 Posts

Posted - 26 Sep 2013 :  15:33:17  Show Profile Send Momodou a Private Message  Reply with Quote
A story from AP Mobile:
By MIKE CORDER

Court upholds 50 years for Liberia's Taylor

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands (AP) - An international war crimes court on Thursday upheld the conviction and 50-year sentence of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for aiding rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone, saying his financial, material and tactical support made possible horrendous crimes against civilians.

The appeals chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone kept the 65-year-old Taylor's conviction on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including terrorism, murder, rape and using child soldiers.

Taylor's conviction in April 2012 was hailed as ushering in a new era of accountability for heads of state. He was the first former head of state convicted by an international war crimes court since World War II.

Wearing a black suit and a gold-colored tie, Taylor showed little emotion while Presiding Judge George Gelaga King read the unanimous verdict of the six-judge panel.

Prosecutor Brenda Hollis said the court's final ruling "affirms Taylor's criminal responsibility for grave crimes."

"He's caused untold suffering for thousands, if not tens of thousands, of victims in Sierra Leone," she said at a press conference after the ruling. "Today's judgment brings some measure of justice for those victims who suffered so horribly."

Others focused on the future impact of Thursday's decision.

"Taylor's conviction sends a powerful message that those at the top can be held to account on the gravest crimes," said Elise Keppler of Human Rights Watch.

Steven Rapp, the ambassador for war crimes issues at the U.S. Department of State and former prosecutor at the Sierra Leone court, said the ruling "sends a clear message to all the world, that when you commit crimes like this, it may not happen overnight, but there will be a day of reckoning."

The court found Taylor provided crucial aid to rebels in Sierra Leone during that country's 11-year civil war, which left an estimated 50,000 people dead before its conclusion in 2002.

Thousands more were left mutilated in a conflict that became known for its extreme cruelty, as rival rebel groups hacked off the limbs of their victims and carved their groups' initials into opponents. The rebels developed gruesome terms for the mutilations, offering victims the choice of "long sleeves" or "short sleeves" - having their hands hacked off or their arms sliced off above the elbow.

Memunatu Kamara, who had her left hand chopped off by rebels in 1999, had traveled to the court in the Netherlands to hear the appeals verdict. She said she felt ill when she first looked at Taylor but "when I saw him convicted, I was feeling good."

Taylor was convicted not only of aiding and abetting Sierra Leone rebels from his seat of power in neighboring Liberia, but also for actually planning some of the attacks carried out by two Sierra Leone rebel groups - the Revolutionary United Front and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. In return he was given "blood diamonds" mined by slave laborers in Sierra Leone and gained political influence in volatile West Africa.

Prosecuting Taylor proved how hard it is to bring leaders to justice. He fled into exile in Nigeria after being indicted in 2003 and wasn't arrested for three years. And while the Sierra Leone court is based in that country's capital, Taylor's trial was staged in the Netherlands for fear it could destabilize the region.

Arthur Saye, Charles Taylor's brother-in-law, who monitored the verdict on television from his shop in Paynesville, Liberia, said he was not surprised at the ruling.

"From day one, my position has been that the trial of Mr. Taylor was orchestrated by the powers that be - the Western powers," he told The Associated Press. "This was an international conspiracy; so I am not surprised or disappointed" by the verdict.

He added he had spoken by telephone to Taylor's wife Victoria, who is in the Netherlands.

"I thought she (would be) downhearted, but she was not," he said. "We are going to put our lives back together."

Taylor's lawyer Morris Anyah said outside the courtroom that Taylor himself was disappointed but "he has remained stoic and calm."

"He expressed his view that the next phase of life is to see how to preserve his contact with his family and ensure that his younger children are provided for," Anyah said.

In a development that could have a lasting impact on future war crimes cases, Thursday's ruling clashed with an appeals decision by the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, in which former Serbian Gen. Momcilo Perisic was acquitted of aiding and abetting war crimes.

Judges at the ICTY said in order to aid and abet a crime, a suspect has to have "specifically directed" aid toward committing crimes.

But judges in the Taylor case openly disagreed with that. They said the key to guilt in aiding and abetting a crime is that a suspect's participation encouraged the commission of crimes and had a substantial effect on the crimes actually being committed - not the particular manner in which a suspect was involved.



Read Full Story

A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone
Go to Top of Page

toubab1020



12314 Posts

Posted - 26 Sep 2013 :  18:03:16  Show Profile Send toubab1020 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The conduct of this living thing has been totally inhuman.
Animals have their own built in lifestyle,the horrors inflicted on humans by Charles Taylor and those who were "only obeying orders" defies explanation in words,Charles Taylor must serve his prison sentence in FULL in a prison environment of NO FRILLS, basic needs of human existence only being catered for.

"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
Go to Top of Page

Momodou



Denmark
11823 Posts

Posted - 10 Oct 2013 :  13:21:07  Show Profile Send Momodou a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Liberia's Charles Taylor to serve jail term in UK

BBC Online: 10 October 2013

Ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor is to serve his 50-year war crimes sentence in the UK, Justice Minister Jeremy Wright has confirmed.

Sweden and Rwanda had also offered to imprison him following the rejection of his appeal last month by a UN-backed special court in The Hague.

It ruled that his convictions had been proved beyond doubt.

He was sentenced in May 2012 for aiding rebels who committed atrocities in Sierra Leone during its civil war.

Because of fears his trial could spark renewed conflict in West Africa, it was moved from Sierra Leone to The Hague; and the UK at the time offered to jail him if convicted........

Read Full Story

A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone
Go to Top of Page

toubab1020



12314 Posts

Posted - 10 Oct 2013 :  13:31:09  Show Profile Send toubab1020 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Personally,I think that the offer from Rwanda should have been accepted. Anyone want to comment on THIS aspect of the topic ?
No? Ah well I did try to get something going !

"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
Go to Top of Page

Momodou



Denmark
11823 Posts

Posted - 10 Oct 2013 :  14:40:46  Show Profile Send Momodou a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Toubab, I agree with you. A British jail is going to be a luxurious place compared to one in Rwanda. I am afraid he might easily have contact with West Africans in the British jail to enable him to continue with some of his business than if he was sent to Rwanda.

Let's hope that he is not allowed to go on weekends after spending sometime like here in Denmark.

A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone
Go to Top of Page

toubab1020



12314 Posts

Posted - 10 Oct 2013 :  14:58:56  Show Profile Send toubab1020 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
You have read my mind Momodou but one bright point out of all this...........What is that you may well ask..........It is that I strongly suspect that this vicious criminal will have his "board ,lodging,care,expenses etc" paid for by the UN,and as such will help pay for the debts that the UK faces through bank greed "quantitative easing", to you and I,printing money,so here again I think its about business and the root of all evil.....MONEY.One very apt quote I came across is this:

"The bottom line is that money, like technology, is spiritually neutral. It can be used for good or evil. God always deals with the heart and the motives of the use of money. If the motives are pure then the fruit can be very very good. Let's stop loving things and start loving people. That is the measure of true wealth!"

"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
Go to Top of Page

Momodou



Denmark
11823 Posts

Posted - 14 Oct 2013 :  22:28:52  Show Profile Send Momodou a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Toubab, Did you scare him.

Liberia's Charles Taylor prefers Rwandan jail to UK
14 October 2013



Ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor has asked to serve his 50-year sentence for war crimes in Rwanda, rather than the UK.

In a letter sent to the court that convicted him, he says it would be easier - and less expensive - for his family to visit him in Africa.

He also said he feared being attacked in a British prison.

Taylor was convicted of aiding rebels who committed atrocities in Sierra Leone during its civil war.

Last week, a UK minister confirmed that Taylor would be transferred to a British prison.

He was convicted by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), but his trial was held in The Hague in case it sparked renewed unrest in West Africa.

The Netherlands only agreed to host the trial if he was imprisoned elsewhere.

'Own brand of justice'

In a letter seen by the BBC, Taylor wrote:

"My position is that serving my sentence in Rwanda, in my home continent of Africa, would be substantially more humane not only on my own account, but also on account of the impact on my family."

He noted that the court's statutes said access for prisoners' relatives should be taken into account when deciding where they should serve their sentence.

He said that it would be cheaper and easier to travel to Rwanda - and that Liberian nationals could obtain visas at the airport, unlike in the UK.......

Read Full Story


A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone
Go to Top of Page

toubab1020



12314 Posts

Posted - 14 Oct 2013 :  23:33:47  Show Profile Send toubab1020 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Quelle surprise, moi?




"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
Go to Top of Page

Momodou



Denmark
11823 Posts

Posted - 19 Jun 2014 :  15:16:31  Show Profile Send Momodou a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Charles Taylor sues Britain for denying him right to family life


An African warlord imprisoned for 50 years over crimes against humanity is suing Britain for denying him the right to a family life.

Former Liberian president Charles Taylor, says his incarceration in a jail in county Durham keeps him from his wife and 15 children in Africa.

Taylor was convicted in 2012 on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including terrorism, murder, rape and using child soldiers during a civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990s that left tens of thousands of people dead.

The U.K. agreed to imprison Taylor, 66, after the conviction.

He has now lodged legal papers with the United Nations’ Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague claiming that his detention in the UK breaches his human rights.

Taylor is said to have written to the Dutch court arguing that his family should be able to visit him more easily.

He wrote: “My position is that serving my sentence in Rwanda, in my home continent of Africa, would be substantially more humane not only on my own account, but also on account of the impact on my family.”

He also said he feared being attacked by other inmates at HMP Frankland and that prisoners carrying out their “own brand of justice” will soon lead to him being seriously injured or killed.

Taylor has appointed lawyers in England, including a QC and with the case heard in the Netherlands could cost the Government tens of thousands of pounds in legal costs.

A Ministry of Justice Spokesman said: “Charles Taylor is being treated in accordance with the United Kingdom’s obligations and in the same way as any other prisoner in England and Wales.”

Taylor aided rebels in Sierra Leone during the brutal civil war in the 1990s which left 50,000 people dead.

Thousands more were left mutilated in the conflict that became known for the extreme cruelty of rival rebel groups who hacked off the limbs of their victims and carved their initials into opponents.

Source: TVC News

A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone
Go to Top of Page

toubab1020



12314 Posts

Posted - 19 Jun 2014 :  20:50:43  Show Profile Send toubab1020 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
"A Ministry of Justice Spokesman said: “Charles Taylor is being treated in accordance with the United Kingdom’s obligations and in the same way as any other prisoner in England and Wales.”

How boring, table tennis or TV what a choice for us inmates !!!!!!

"He also said he feared being attacked by other inmates at HMP Frankland and that prisoners carrying out their “own brand of justice” will soon lead to him being seriously injured or killed."

Oh Dear,what, NO JUSTICE in the UK for a creature like taylor !!!!


"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
Go to Top of Page
Page: of 2 Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  
Previous Page
 New Topic  Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
| More
Jump To:
Bantaba in Cyberspace © 2005-2024 Nijii Go To Top Of Page
This page was generated in 0.15 seconds. User Policy, Privacy & Disclaimer | Powered By: Snitz Forums 2000 Version 3.4.06