30 May 2012

THE HAGUE / TAYLOR SENTENCING

The UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) today sentenced convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison for planning and for aiding and abetting crimes committed by Sierra Leonean rebel forces during the country’s decade-long civil war. ICC

Posted at: May 30, 2012 12:39 pm

Duration: 02:13

Available in: SD

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STORY: THE HAGUE / TAYLOR SENTENCING
TRT: 2.13
SOURCE: ICC / UNMIL 
RESTRICTIONS:
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 30 MAY 2012, THE HAGUE, NEATHERLANDS / FILE

SHOTLIST:

ICC - 30 MAY 2012, THE HAGUE, NEATHERLANDS

1. Wide shot, Court
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Justice Richard Lussick, Presiding Judge:
"On the 26th of April, 2012, the Trial Chamber rendered its judgement delivered in summary form, finding the accused, Charles Ghankay Taylor, guilty of aiding and abetting the commission of the crimes set forth in counts 1 to 11 of the indictment."
3. Med shot, Taylor
4. Wide shot, Court
5. Med shot, Taylor
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Justice Richard Lussick, Presiding Judge:
"The accused has been found responsible for aiding and abetting as well as planning some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history. The Trial Chambers is of the view that the offenses for which the accused has been convicted, acts of terrorism, murder, rape, sexual slavery, cruel treatment, recruitment of child soldiers, enslavement and pillage, are of the utmost gravity in terms of the scale of the scale of brutality of the offenses, the suffering caused by them on victims and the families of victims, and the vulnerability and number of victims."
7. Close up, Taylor
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Justice Richard Lussick, Presiding Judge:
"Mr. Taylor, would you please rise for the sentence of the Court."
9. Wide shot, Taylor standing up
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Justice Richard Lussick, Presiding Judge:
11. "The Trial Chamber unanimously sentences you to a single term of imprisonment of 50 years, for all of the counts for which you've been found guilty. Credit shall be given to you for the period commencing from 29th of March 2006, during which you were detained in custody pending this trial."
12. Wide shot, Court

UNMIL – 29 MARCH 2006, SIERRA LEONE

13. Wide shot, Charles Taylor descending from aircraft
14. Med shot, Charles Taylor being escorted by police to a helicopter
15. Various shots, Charles Taylor inside helicopter

STORYLINE:

The United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) today (30 May) sentenced convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison for planning and for aiding and abetting crimes committed by Sierra Leonean rebel forces during the country's decade-long civil war.

The SCSL's Trial Chamber unanimously imposed the single global sentence for all 11 counts of the crimes for which Taylor, 64, was found guilty of in April. These included acts of terrorism, murder, rape, sexual slavery, outrages upon personal dignity, cruel treatment, conscripting or enlisting of child soldiers, enslavement and pillage, related to the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990s.

The Trial Chamber's judges cited aggravating factors and took into account the report of his good conduct in detention, but otherwise rejected a number of mitigating factors proposed by his defence lawyers.

Justice Richard Lussick of Samoa, said that the charges for which Taylor has been found responsible, are "some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history."

At an earlier hearing, Taylor had told the SCSL that he was saddened by the atrocities and crimes committed in Sierra Leone, but denied that he aided the rebels who committed the abuses. He had asked that reconciliation and healing and not retribution should be the guiding principles in your honours' task" in determining his sentence.

Any intention to appeal the Trial Chamber's decision must be submitted in writing to the SCSL's Appeals Chamber within 14 days of today's sentencing judgement, setting forth the grounds of appeal.

The SCSL is an independent tribunal set up jointly by the Government of Sierra Leone and the UN. It is mandated to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law committed in the country since 30 November 1996.