Charles Taylor, Liberia Warlord gets 50 years Imprisonement

Victims of the bloody regime of Liberian warlord Charles Taylor have spoken of their relief after his 50-year jail term for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sierra Leone was upheld by an international court. The final verdict handed down by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) on Thursday draws a line under a seven-year trial of the 65-year-old former Liberian president, sentenced in May last year for "some of the most heinous crimes in human history".

"As a government, we believe that justice has been done and impunity is over," Sierra Leone government spokesman Abdulai Bayraytay told AFP.

"The message for sitting heads of state not only in Africa but beyond is that when you are in power you must exercise it judiciously, have respect for the rule of law and human rights and uphold the dignity of others."

About 100 people, including human rights activists and survivors of the Sierra Leone civil war, watched a live broadcast of the ruling in the capital Freetown.

For Sullay Turay, who lost a hand and a foot to Taylor-backed rebels, the outcome "showed that no matter what you do, justice will finally catch up with you and this is what has happened in Taylor's case".

The former warlord is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars, possibly in a British jail.