Sentence ‘too long’ for blood diamond leader

Defence lawyers for former Liberian president Charles Taylor said the recommendation by prosecutors that he be imprisoned for 80 years is vindictive and excessive, according to a document released yesterday.

Taylor has been convicted of 11 counts of aiding and abetting rebels in Sierra Leone’s civil war.

Prosecutor Brenda Hollis last week said the lengthy sentence would “reflect the essential role Mr Taylor played in crimes of such extreme scope and gravity”.

Defence lawyers said the recommendation is “manifestly disproportionate and excessive” for Taylor, who is 64.

In its written submission before a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, the defence team argued that “an appropriate penalty would be a number of years which falls short of what would be in real terms a life sentence.”

Taylor was convicted of providing key support, including arms and ammunition to rebels in Sierra Leone, in return for “blood diamonds” – gems mined in conflict zones using slave labour. The rebels were notorious for hacking off the hands or arms of their enemies to strike terror into communities.

His lawyers urged judges not to heap all the blame for Sierra Leone’s deadly civil war on Taylor. The 11-year conflict ended in 2002 with more than 50,000 dead.