Charles Taylor to appeal war crimes sentence

Lawyers for Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor have informed a U.N.-backed court that they plan to appeal his 50-year prison sentence for war crimes, according to a court document seen Tuesday. The defense signaled their intent Monday to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, based outside The Hague, according to a copy obtained by AFP. The prosecution, which sought an 80-year sentence against Taylor during the trial, has signaled its intention to appeal the sentence, SCSL public affairs chief Peter Andersen told AFP. Both sides had a Tuesday deadline to file the actual appeals, but have asked for extensions – three weeks for prosecution and five for defense, he said. Taylor was sentenced on May 30 for arming Sierra Leone’s rebels in return for “blood diamonds” during the country’s brutal 1991-2001 civil war, which claimed 120,000 lives. Taylor maintained his innocence during the trial, which saw a number of witnesses testify including supermodel Naomi Campbell. In April, Taylor was convicted on all 11 counts of war atrocities and crimes against humanity for aiding and abetting “some of the most heinous crimes in human history.” It was the first judgment against a former head of state by an international court since the Nuremberg Nazi trials in 1946. He was arrested in March 2006 as he tried to flee from exile in Nigeria, after being forced to quit Liberia three years earlier under international pressure to end a civil war in his own country.