The former Liberian leader and strongman, who is accused of backing a rebel group that mutilated and raped thousands of civilians in Sierra Leone, was flanked by police as he was led into the United Nations-backed special court.
In Sierra Leone, some leaders of the rebel troops who mutilated civilians have been brought to trial.
Explanation:
A civil war raged in Sierra Leone between 1991 and 2002, in which the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) led by Foday Sankoh, supported by Liberian insurgent of the Liberian National Patriotic Liberation Front (NPFL) and later President Charles Taylor, fought against government forces supported by Guinea and Nigeria. The civil war was funded to a significant extent by the smuggling of diamonds.
A Special Court for Sierra Leone has been established for war crimes committed during the civil war. It has issued thirteen charges, and eight judgments have been pronounced so far. The most famous case tried by this Special Court is that of Charles Taylor, president of Liberia during the war, who was sentenced to 50 years in prison for crimes against humanity.
