Den Internationale Straffedomstol i Haag har onsdag idømt den tidligere præsident i Liberia, Charles Taylor, – ham med bloddiamanterne – 50 års fængsel for krigsforbrydelser.
Udenrigsminister Villy Søvndal (SF) glæder sig over domsfældelsen i en presseudtalelse fra udenrigsministeriet:
“Hver dag foregår der krigsforbrydelser og forbrydelser mod menneskeheden et eller andet sted på kloden, og ofte går de skyldige fri. Så jeg glæder mig over, at Charles Taylor har fået en hård dom. Han er en af de helt store slyngler i denne verden og det havde ikke været til at bære, hvis han gik fri”.
“Hver dag må vi arbejde for, at politiske ledere, der begår meget alvorlige overgreb på deres egen befolkning eller deres naboer, bliver stillet til ansvar. Dommen i dag er vigtig – både for den konkrete sag, men også principielt og ved sit signal til de alt for mange andre ledere, der misbruger deres magt: I skal ikke slippe af sted med det”.
BBC online skriver udbyggende onsdag:
Last month Taylor was found guilty of aiding and abetting rebels in Sierra Leone during the 1991-2002 civil war.
Special Court for Sierra Leone judges said the sentence reflected his status as head of state at the time and his betrayal of public trust.
Taylor, 64, insists he is innocent and is likely to appeal against the sentence, and the appeal process could last up to six months.
“The accused has been found responsible for aiding and abetting (tilskynde til) some of the most heinous (gruopvækkende) crimes in human history,” Judge Richard Lussick said.
The crimes – which took place over five years – included cutting off the limbs of their victims and cutting open pregnant women to settle bets over the sex of their unborn children, he said.
The prosecution had wanted an 80-year prison term to reflect the severity of the crimes and the central role that Taylor had in facilitating them.
