Former Liberian president Charles Taylor lost an appeal on Monday when the war crimes tribunal for Sierra Leone ruled that he can be prosecuted by the court.
The United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal said in its ruling that Liberia’s former president, now in exile in Nigeria, ”was and is subject to criminal proceedings before the special court in Freetown”.
Lawyers for Taylor had argued that as he was head of state at the time of the indictment by the court (March 2003), he was immune to prosecution. They had also argued that the court was a national one and thus did not have jurisdiction outside Sierra Leone.
”Today’s ruling means that a head of state is not immune to prosecution, and that this court is indeed an international one,” court spokesperson Allison Cooper said.
Taylor was Liberia’s president during the country’s civil war that began in 1989, sparked by his rebellion against then-president Samuel Doe.
Amid massive international pressure Taylor stood down last August and is at present living in exile in Nigeria.
So far, Nigeria has not sent any signals indicating it is ready to hand over Taylor to the court in Sierra Leone.
”We hope that Nigeria’s government will change its mind. But so far we have no indication that they will do so,” said Cooper.
Taylor is accused of arming and training feared rebels in Sierra Leone, infamous for chopping the limbs off their victims.
He was allegedly paid in so-called ”blood diamonds” worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
He is indicted on 17 counts of crimes against humanity and other serious violations of humanitarian law, among which are terrorising civilian populations, unlawful killings and sexual violence. — Sapa-DPA