Armed men seize Libya's Justice Ministry
Remains of the building of a defense ministry brigade bombed by residents in Benghazi, Libya on Monday.
April 30th, 2013
08:31 AM ET
Comments (41 comments)

Armed men seize Libya's Justice Ministry

Armed men in trucks with anti-aircraft guns mounted on them occupied the Libyan Justice Ministry in Tripoli on Tuesday, forcing ministry staff to leave, Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani said.

The militants consisted of 20 to 30 armed men in military fatigues, according to al-Marghani, who said he tried to talk to the men before fleeing.

This comes as the nation's Foreign Ministry remains under siege for a third straight day.

The armed protesters have said their main goal was to push the General National Congress to pass a proposed law that would ban Gadhafi-era officials from holding government posts.

FULL STORY

Filed under: Liberia
Who is former Liberian president Charles Taylor?
Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor listens to the judge at The Hague.
May 30th, 2012
10:18 AM ET
Comments (4 comments)

Who is former Liberian president Charles Taylor?

The first former head of state to be convicted of war crimes since World War II was sentenced to 50 years in prison Wednesday by an international court in The Hague, Netherlands.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone convicted former Liberian president Charles Taylor last month of supplying and encouraging rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in a campaign of terror, involving murder, rape, sexual slavery and the conscription children younger than 15.

He was also found guilty of using Sierra Leone's diamond deposits to help fuel its civil war with arms and guns while enriching himself with what have commonly come to be known as "blood diamonds."

Here's a few more details about Taylor:

Major dates

* July 24, 1997 – Taylor is elected president of Liberia.

* Aug. 11, 2003 – Under international indictment and pressure to resign, Taylor officially relinquished his office in a ceremony at the presidential palace. Vice President Moses Blah is sworn-in as Liberia's 22nd president and Taylor leaves for Nigeria where he finds asylum.

Personal information:

* Birth date: January 28, 1948

* Birth place: Arthington, Liberia

* Birth name: Charles Taylor

* Parents: Father Nelson was American, mother Zoe was Liberian.

* Marriages: three or four wives; not very clear whether he was married to more than one at a time

Jewel (Howard) Taylor (1997-2006, divorce)

* Children: several; some sources say up to 30 from various wives and mistresses

* Education: Bachelor's degree, Economics, Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts, 1977

Other Facts:

* Added his middle name, Ghankay, in later years. Some believe for political reasons.

* Taylor's policies, foreign and domestic, lead the country into turmoil (displaced persons, lack of utilities, rebel uprisings, UN sanctions).

FULL POST

 Post by:
Filed under: Liberia
Former Liberian leader Taylor sentenced to 50 years for war crimes
This handout picture released by the Special Court for Sierra Leone on June 20, 2006, shows former Liberian president Charles Taylor in the center.
May 30th, 2012
05:45 AM ET
Comments (24 comments)

Former Liberian leader Taylor sentenced to 50 years for war crimes

The Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, Netherlands, on Wednesday sentenced Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia, to 50 years in prison for war crimes committed in the civil war of neighboring country Sierra Leone over the course of five years.

Taylor, president of Liberia from 1997 to 2003, was convicted last month of aiding rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in a campaign of terror, involving murder, rape, sexual slavery and the conscription children younger than 15.

There is no death penalty in international criminal law.

The former Liberian president does not see himself as a war criminal but as a victim - a leader wronged by corruption and a hypocritical hand of justice with a political agenda.

"I never stood a chance," he said. "Only time will tell how many other African heads of state will be destroyed."

FULL STORY
Post by:
Filed under: Crime • Justice • Liberia
May 10th, 2012
08:13 AM ET
Comments (6 comments)

Charles Taylor's defense to counter sentencing recommendation

The defense for Charles Taylor is expected to submit its counter-recommendation Thursday after prosecutors said the former Liberian president deserves an 80-year sentence for a war crimes conviction.

Taylor was found guilty last month of aiding and abetting war crimes in neighboring Sierra Leone's civil war.

"Should the trial chamber decide to impose a global sentence, 80 years' imprisonment would be appropriate," said Brenda Hollis, chief prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

In the statement last week, the prosecutor said the sentence reflects the gravity of the crimes.

"But for Charles Taylor's criminal conduct, thousands of people would not have had limbs amputated, would not have been raped, would not have been killed," Hollis said. "The recommended sentence provides fair and adequate response to the outrage these crimes caused in victims, their families and relatives."

Last month's landmark ruling by the international tribunal was the first war crimes conviction of a former head of state by an international court since the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders after World War II.

Taylor, 64, was found guilty of all 11 counts of aiding and abetting rebel forces in a campaign of terror that involved murder, rape, sexual slavery, conscripting children younger than 15 and mining diamonds to pay for guns.

FULL STORY
Post by:
Filed under: Liberia • Netherlands
April 26th, 2012
07:13 AM ET
Comments (12 comments)

Liberia ex-president Taylor guilty in war crimes trial

An international war crimes tribunal Thursday found Liberia's former president, Charles Taylor, guilty of aiding and abetting rebels who raped, killed and mutilated civilians in neighboring Sierra Leone. However, prosecutors failed to prove that he had command over the rebels, a judge for the Special Court for Sierra Leone said.

FULL STORY
Post by:
Filed under: Liberia