Charles Taylor said during his sentencing hearing yesterday that he sympathised with victims of the civil war in Sierra Leone he helped foment, and asked judges to render their sentence against him in a spirit of “reconciliation, not retribution”
However, he stopped short of admitting any wrongdoing, apologising for his actions or expressing remorse.
In a landmark ruling in April, judges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone found Taylor guilty of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and conscripting child soldiers.
Judges at the UN-backed court said his aid was essential in helping rebels in Sierra Leone continue their bloody rampage during the West African nation’s decade-long civil war, which ended in 2002 with more than 50,000 dead.
It was the first time a former head of state had been convicted of war crimes since the aftermath of the Second World War.
Taylor is due to be sentenced on May 30th, with prosecutors demanding an 80-year prison term. –(Reuters)