The former president of Liberia Charles Taylor is due to appear in a war crimes court at The Hague today to learn his fate at the end of a four-year trial, which may lead to a British prison cell.
The first African head of state to be brought before an international tribunal will be at the special court for Sierra Leone to hear verdicts on 11 charges, including recruitment of child soldiers and looting conflict (“blood”) diamonds.
Other offences, alleged to have been committed under his direction during the civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone, between 1996 and 2002, involve murder, rape, sexual slavery and enforced amputations.
As the former colonial power in Sierra Leone, Britain says it will make prison space available for Taylor if he is convicted. – (Guardian service)