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75-749: The Poro society was part of the culture introduced by Mane people , migrants to the region as early as 1000 AD. Two affiliated and secret associations exist in Sierra Leone, the Yassi and the Bundu . The first is nominally reserved for females, but members of the Poro are admitted to certain ceremonies. All the female members of the Yassi must be also members of the Bundu, which is strictly reserved to women. In Liberia,

150-403: A red notice regarding Taylor, suggesting that countries had a duty to arrest him. Taylor was placed on Interpol's Most Wanted list , declaring him wanted for crimes against humanity and breaches of the 1949 Geneva Convention , and noting that he should be considered dangerous. Nigeria stated it would not submit to Interpol's demands, agreeing to deliver Taylor to Liberia only in the event that

225-784: A Gaddafi-funded armed uprising from the Ivory Coast into Liberia to overthrow the Doe regime, leading to the First Liberian Civil War . By 1990, his forces controlled most of the country. That same year, Prince Johnson , a senior commander of Taylor's NPFL, broke away and formed the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL). In September 1990, Johnson captured Monrovia , depriving Taylor of outright victory. Johnson and his forces captured and tortured Doe to death, instigating

300-490: A UN embargo against arms sales to Liberia at the time, these weapons were largely purchased on the black market through arms smugglers such as Viktor Bout . Taylor was charged with aiding and abetting RUF atrocities against civilians, which left many thousands dead or mutilated, with unknown numbers of people abducted and tortured. He was also accused of assisting the RUF in the recruitment of child soldiers . In addition to aiding

375-411: A West Atlantic language, have an aristocracy of Mane origin. They brought improved military techniques and iron and cloth manufacture to the region, but the disruption and oppression caused by their invasion helped degrade the thriving stone and ivory carving and raffia weaving traditions among the native communities. The Mane invasions militarised Sierra Leone. The Sapes had been un-warlike, but after

450-705: A different interpretation, challenging Rodney's reading of the place names in primary sources. He argued that the major battle against the Bullom happened on or near Sherbro Island , Sierra Leone. The Quoja, rather than being a Kru-speaking part of the Sumbas , led a separate invasion of the Cape Mount region from the east in the 1620s or 30s, eventually coming into conflict with the Mane states, and may have been Mande -speaking (perhaps Vai ) themselves. These attacks were only

525-598: A few days later. In July 2003, LURD initiated a siege of Monrovia, and several bloody battles were fought as Taylor's forces halted rebel attempts to capture the city. The pressure on Taylor increased as U.S. President George W. Bush twice that month stated that Taylor "must leave Liberia". On 9 July, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo offered Taylor exile in his country on the condition that Taylor stay out of Liberian politics. Taylor insisted that he would resign only if U.S. peacekeeping troops were deployed to Liberia. Bush publicly called upon Taylor to resign and leave

600-411: A former military commander, testified that Charles Taylor celebrated his new-found status during the civil war by ordering human sacrifice, including the killings of Taylor's opponents and allies that were perceived to have betrayed Taylor, and by having a pregnant woman buried alive in sand. Marzah also accused Taylor of forcing cannibalism on his soldiers to terrorize their enemies. In January 2009,

675-733: A getaway car to Staten Island in New York, where Taylor disappeared. All four of Taylor's fellow escapees, as well as Enid and Toweh, were later apprehended. In July 2009, Taylor claimed at his trial that US CIA agents had helped him escape from the maximum security prison in Boston in 1985. This was during his trial by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague. The US Defense Intelligence Agency confirmed that Taylor first started working with US intelligence in

750-579: A large portion of the country and became one of the most prominent warlords in Africa. His forces, along with those of other rival warlords such as ULIMO were notorious for committing widespread human rights abuses and atrocities during the civil war. Following a peace deal that ended the war, Taylor was elected president in the 1997 general election as a member of the National Patriotic Party (NPP). During his term of office, Taylor

825-689: A motion by Taylor's defence team, who argued that their client could not get a fair trial there and also wanted the Special Court to withdraw the request to move the trial to Leidschendam. On 15 June 2006, the British government agreed to jail Taylor in the United Kingdom in the event he was convicted by the SCSL. This fulfilled a condition laid down by the Dutch government , which had stated it

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900-455: A particular spider are spread over)." The Liberian Poro is little different when it comes to ceremonies. If a ceremony has women, children and non-members taking part, the devil stays out. The Gbetoo is the only "fetish dressed up with long tube of wood" that can be seen. The poro devil is invisible even to most members. The Poro can place its taboo on anything or anybody. As no member would defy its order, much trouble has been caused where

975-541: A plea of not guilty. In early June 2006, the decision on whether to hold Taylor's trial in Freetown or in Leidschendam had not yet been made by the new SCSL president, George Gelaga King . King's predecessor had pushed for the trial to be held abroad because of fear that a local trial would be politically destabilizing in an area where Taylor still had influence. The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court dismissed

1050-656: A result, opposition to his government grew, culminating in the outbreak of the Second Liberian Civil War in 1999. By 2003, Taylor had lost control of much of the countryside and was formally indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone . That year, he resigned, as a result of growing international pressure; he went into exile in Nigeria . In 2006, the newly elected President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , formally requested his extradition. He

1125-514: A violent political fragmentation of the country. The civil war turned into an ethnic conflict , with seven factions among indigenous peoples and the Americo-Liberians fighting for control of Liberia's resources (especially iron ore, diamonds, timber, and rubber). Amos Sawyer alleges that Taylor's aims extended beyond Liberia—that he wanted to re-establish the country as a regional power player. Taylor's ambitions, which were held from

1200-548: A warrant for extradition to face charges of embezzling $ 1 million (~$ 2.48 million in 2023) of government funds while he was the GSA boss. Taylor fought extradition with the help of a legal team led by former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark . His lawyers' primary arguments before US District Magistrate Robert J. DeGiacomo stated that his alleged acts of lawbreaking in Liberia were political rather than criminal in nature and that

1275-532: Is a Liberian former politician and convicted war criminal who served as the 22nd president of Liberia from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003 as a result of the Second Liberian Civil War and growing international pressure. Born in Arthington , Montserrado County , Liberia , Taylor earned a degree at Bentley College in the United States before returning to Liberia to work in

1350-460: Is a representation of the spirit world of benign and malevolent spirits. "The ceremonies of the Purrah are presided over by the Poro devil, a man in fetish dress, who addresses the meeting through a long tube of wood, known as a bull-roarer (voice distorter which delivers a bloodcurdling stream of sounds, and is made from a tube with holes cut into it over which discs of membrane from the egg sacks of

1425-526: Is reported to have coopted the Poro Society, which helped him project an aura of mystery and invincibility. Mane people The Manes (so called by the Portuguese), Mani or Manneh were invaders who attacked the western coast of Africa in what is now Guinea , Liberia and Sierra Leone throughout much of the sixteenth century. The widest deployment of political and economic power in

1500-769: The People's Redemption Council . Taylor was appointed to the position of Director General of the General Services Agency (GSA), a position that left him in charge of purchasing for the Liberian government. He was fired in May 1983 for embezzling an estimated $ 1,000,000 (~$ 2.57 million in 2023) and sending the funds to another bank account. Taylor fled to the United States but was arrested on 21 May 1984 by two US Deputy Marshals in Somerville, Massachusetts , on

1575-637: The Sudan before the seventeenth century was that stemming from Mandé initiative in the successive empires of Ghana and Mali (and to some extent of Songhai also). This had political consequences in the lands immediately to the west and south of the Mandé heartland around the upper reaches of the Niger and Senegal rivers. One result was the Fulani dispersion eastward past the farthest reaches of Mandé influence, and

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1650-510: The U.S. State Department . On 6 August, a 32-member U.S. military assessment team were deployed as a liaison with the ECOWAS troops, landing from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit , commanded by Colonel A.P. Frick, from three U.S. Navy amphibious ships waiting off the Liberian coast. On 10 August, Taylor appeared on national television to announce that he would resign the following day and hand power to Vice President Blah. He harshly criticized

1725-610: The 1980s but refused to give details of his role or US actions, citing national security. Taylor escaped the United States without issue. He then resurfaced in Libya where he took part in militia training under Muammar Gaddafi , becoming Gaddafi's protégé. He later left Libya and travelled to the Ivory Coast , where he founded the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). In December 1989, Taylor launched

1800-589: The 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania . The indictment was unsealed during Taylor's official visit to Ghana , where he was participating in peace talks with MODEL and LURD officials. As result, the possibility arose that Taylor might be arrested by Ghanaian authorities; in response, Taylor's chief bodyguard and military commander Benjamin Yeaten threatened to execute Ghanaians who lived in Liberia, deterring Ghana's government from taking action. With

1875-505: The 95% of the people who are indigenous to Liberia. According to most reports, his father was an Americo-Liberian who worked as a teacher, sharecropper, lawyer and judge. In 1977, Taylor earned a degree at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts , United States. Taylor supported the 1980 Liberian coup d'état led by Samuel Doe , which resulted in the murder of President William Tolbert and seizure of power by Doe, who established

1950-869: The Mandé expansion. One was along the line of the river Gambia, a useful artery for trade, which rises within a few miles of the sources of the Falémé , a major tributary of the Senegal, whose headwaters were in Mande occupation. The other, separated from The Gambia by the Fouta Djallon massif which the Fulani were occupying, ran south into modern Sierra Leone close by the Susu settlement. In both areas, political organizations were established under rulers called farimas . Initially they paid tribute to Mali , and even after

2025-423: The Poro. Under the former, boys join it at puberty in a rite of passage. Under its civil aspects, the society serves as a kind of native governing body, making laws, deciding on war and peace, etc. In Culture and Customs of Liberia (2006) by Ayodeji Olukoju , the place of the Poro society in Liberian life is examined. "Liberian religious culture is characterised by a predisposition towards secrecy (encapsulated in

2100-506: The President of Liberia requested his return. On 17 March 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , the newly elected President of Liberia, submitted an official request to Nigeria for Taylor's extradition . This request was granted on 25 March, whereby Nigeria agreed to release Taylor to stand trial in the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). Nigeria agreed only to release Taylor and not to extradite him, as no extradition treaty existed between

2175-457: The RUF in these acts, Taylor reportedly personally directed RUF operations in Sierra Leone. Taylor obtained spiritual and other advice from the evangelist Kilari Anand Paul . As president, he was known for his flamboyant style. Upon being charged by the UN of being a gunrunner and diamond smuggler during his presidency, Taylor appeared in all-white robes and begged God for forgiveness, while denying

2250-565: The United Nations' peacekeeping mission, United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia , along with a contingent from the Economic Community of West African States . Taylor won the election in a landslide, garnering 75 percent of the vote. Although the election was generally regarded as free and fair by international observers, Taylor had a significant advantage from the outset. During the civil war, he seized virtually all of

2325-640: The United States in his farewell address , saying that the Bush administration 's insistence that he leave the country would hurt Liberia. On 11 August, Taylor resigned, with Blah serving as president until a transitional government was established on 14 October. Ghanaian President John Kufuor , South African President Thabo Mbeki , and Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano , all representing African regional councils, were present at his announcement. The U.S. brought Joint Task Force Liberia 's Amphibious Ready Group of three warships with 2,300 Marines into view of

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2400-421: The United States in the event of his acquittal by the SCSL. Taylor's counsel cited the leaked cable and the court's decision as evidence of an international conspiracy against Taylor. On 3 March, the appeals court of the SCSL overturned the trial court's decision, ruling that as the trial court had not established that Taylor had been counseled by the court and personally indicated his intent to waive his right to

2475-535: The backing of South African president Thabo Mbeki and against the urging of Sierra Leone president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah , Ghana consequently declined to detain Taylor, who returned to Monrovia. During Taylor's absence for the peace talks in Ghana, the U.S. government was alleged to have urged Vice President Moses Blah to seize power. Upon his return, Taylor briefly dismissed Blah from his post, only to reinstate him

2550-447: The charges. He was reported to have said that "Jesus Christ was accused of being a murderer in his time." During the last four years of Taylor's presidency, he is believed to have stolen and diverted nearly $ 100 million, amounting to roughly half of total government revenue. In 1999, a rebellion against Taylor began in northern Liberia, led by a group calling itself Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). This group

2625-565: The civil war period into his presidency, not only resulted in the domestic Liberian conflict, they also triggered regional instability which manifested itself in the forms of the Sierra Leone Civil War and unrest in the forest region of Guinea . After the official end of the civil war in 1996, Taylor ran for president in the 1997 general election . He campaigned on the notorious slogan "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him." The elections were overseen by

2700-720: The coast. Taylor flew to Nigeria, where the Nigerian government provided houses for him and his entourage in Calabar . In November 2003, the United States Congress passed a bill that included a reward offer of two million dollars for Taylor's capture. While the peace agreement had guaranteed Taylor safe exile in Nigeria, it also required that he refrain from influencing Liberian politics. His critics said he disregarded this prohibition. On 4 December, Interpol issued

2775-671: The coastal areas for centuries before their large-scale migration during the 16th century. According to the Portuguese trader André Álvares de Almada , they spoke a language closely related that of some of the Mandinka people along the Gambia river , wore the same types of clothes, and used the same weapons. 'Mane' was originally a surname of Jola origin; along with the Sane, the Manes were

2850-451: The concept of ifa mo - "do not speak it") and an ingrained belief in the intervention of mysterious forces in human affairs". "Both elite and non-elite Liberians usually attribute events to the activities of secret powers and forces." "Beliefs include the conviction that there are deep and hidden things about an individual that only diviners, priests, and other qualified persons can unravel. This presupposes that whatever exists or happens in

2925-607: The core of the Nyancho royal aristocracy of the Empire of Kaabu , but their link with the Mane of Moussadougou, if any, is unclear. The Mane as such were the group of elites who would lead a large-scale migration into the coastal areas. The rank and file were composed of the Sumba and were continually reinforced as conquest progressed. The Mane used small bows , which enabled them to reuse their enemies' arrows against them, while

3000-399: The country in order for any American involvement to be considered. Meanwhile, several African states, in particular the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) under the leadership of Nigeria, sent troops under the banner of ECOMIL to Liberia. Logistical support was provided by a California company called PAE Government Services Inc., which was given a $ 10 million contract by

3075-576: The country's radio stations and used his control over the Liberian airwaves to spread propaganda and bolster his image. Additionally, there was widespread fear in the country that Taylor would resume the war if he lost. During his time in office, Taylor cut the size of the Armed Forces of Liberia , dismissing 2,400–2,600 former personnel, many of whom were ethnic Krahn brought in by former President Doe to give advantage to his people. In 1998, Taylor attempted to murder one of his political opponents,

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3150-624: The course of several decades. The theory of a single Mane invasion originated with Walter Rodney and was supported by Yves Person . Early Portuguese sources describe a force led by Macarico , a high-ranking woman from the Mali Empire who, having offended the mansa , emigrated with a large following. In the early 1500s she supposedly marched her army south until they reached the Portuguese fort of Elmina . From there they turned west until they arrived in Liberia, where they first appear in

3225-533: The decline of the Mali power in the later fifteenth century, they maintained some idea of its previous supremacy. Some early writers suggested that the Mane may have come from as far away as the Kongo or Niger . Recent scholars, however, have shown that they were a Mande people , likely the Mandinka who established themselves in the area around Moussadougou , Guinea in the 16th century. Mande people had raided

3300-419: The enemy could make no use of their short arrows. The rest of their arms consisted of large shields made of reeds, long enough to give complete cover to the user, two knives, one of which was tied to the left arm, and two quivers for their arrows. Their clothes consisted of loose cotton shirts with wide necks and ample sleeves reaching down to their knees to become tights. One striking feature of their appearance

3375-586: The extradition treaty between the two republics had lapsed. Assistant United States Attorney Richard G. Stearns argued that Liberia wished to charge Taylor with theft in office, rather than with political crimes. Stearns' arguments were reinforced by Liberian Justice Minister Jenkins Scott, who flew to the United States to testify at the proceedings. Taylor was detained in the Plymouth County Correctional Facility . On 15 September 1985, Taylor and four other inmates escaped from

3450-457: The female equivalent of the Poro is the Sande society . Of the three, the Poro is by far the most important. The entire native population is governed by its code of laws. It primarily represents a type of fraternal society to which even infants are temporarily admitted. The ceremony for them consists of carrying them into the Poro bush and out again. There are also religious and civil aspects of

3525-650: The former warlord Roosevelt Johnson , causing clashes in Monrovia , during and after which hundreds of Krahn were massacred and hundreds more fled Liberia. This event was one of the factors that led to the outbreak of the Second Liberian Civil War. In 2003, members of the Krahn tribe founded a rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), opposing Taylor. The group disbanded as part of

3600-473: The government of Samuel Doe . After being removed for embezzlement and imprisoned by President Doe, Taylor escaped prison in 1989. He eventually arrived in Libya , where he was trained as a guerrilla fighter . He returned to Liberia in 1989 as the head of a Libyan-backed rebel group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia , to overthrow the Doe government, initiating the First Liberian Civil War (1989–1996). Following Doe's execution, Taylor gained control of

3675-451: The historical record. More likely, however, this army never went to Elmina but simply marched across Liberia from the north. The Mane fought a major battle against the Bullom people in 1545 near Cape Mount, Liberia where Macarico's son was killed, and she died soon after. The Mane's organization coupled with their auxiliaries reputation for cannibalism and the political fragmentation of

3750-469: The invasions, right until the late 19th century, bows, shields , and knives of the Mane type had become ubiquitous in Sierra Leone, as had the Mane battle technique of using squadrons of archers fighting in formation, carrying the large-style shields. Charles Taylor (Liberian politician) Rebel leader (1989–1997) President of Liberia (1997–2003) Post-Presidency (2003–present) Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor (born 28 January 1948)

3825-419: The jail. Two days later, The Boston Globe reported that they sawed through a bar covering a window in a dormitory room, after which they lowered themselves 20 feet (6.1 m) on knotted sheets and escaped into nearby woods by climbing a fence. Shortly thereafter, Taylor and two other escapees were met at nearby Jordan Hospital by Taylor's wife, Enid, and Taylor's sister-in-law, Lucia Holmes Toweh. They drove

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3900-549: The leader from testifying against him at the SCSL. In June 2003, Alan White, the Prosecutor to the Special Court unsealed the indictment and announced publicly that Taylor was charged with war crimes. The indictment asserted that Taylor created and backed the RUF rebels in Sierra Leone, who were accused of a range of atrocities, including the use of child soldiers . The Prosecutor also said that Taylor's administration had harbored members of Al-Qaeda sought in connection with

3975-470: The most heinous and brutal crimes in recorded human history." 1 Taylor was born in Arthington , a town near the capital of Monrovia, Liberia , on 28 January 1948, to Nelson and Yassa Zoe (Louise) Taylor. He attended The Newman School in his early years. He took the name "Ghankay" later on, possibly to please and gain favor with indigenous Liberians. His mother was a member of the Gola ethnic group, part of

4050-533: The most recent among Mande incursions, sometimes as small as armed trade caravans, that had begun as early as 1300. The Mane expansion had a profound impact on the ethnicites and societies of the coast. The Mandé-speaking Mende are almost certainly the descendants of Mane aristocrats mixed with the native Bullom people . Further north, the Loko are also Mandé-speaking, but mixed with the Temne who, themselves speaking

4125-583: The natives enabled them to conquer the entire region within about 15 years. These auxiliaries, called Sumbas , included the Quoja, the Quea, and people speaking Kru languages ." The Mane advance was only halted when, in the northwest of what is now Sierra Leone, they came up against the Susu, like themselves a Mandé people, possessing similar weapons, military organization and tactics. Andrew Massing in 1985 advanced

4200-456: The other was the settlement of Mandé-speakers along the West Atlantic coast. Mandé-speakers moved west and south of their homeland as traders and conquerors. In the case of traders, an incentive was probably access to the supplies of salt obtainable from the coast. This move towards the coastlands led to a number of Mandé pioneers carving out kingdoms for themselves in emulation of the major model of Mali. There seem to have been two major axes for

4275-404: The overhanging trees, serving as a club-house. There are three grades, the first for Chiefs and Rulers ( Paramount chief ), known as the "big men", the second for Priests and the third for the crowd. The ceremonies of the Poro are presided over by the Poro devil, a man in fetish dress, who addresses the meeting through a long tube of wood. The wearing of wooden masks in Poro society masquerades

4350-462: The peace agreement at the end of the second civil war. In its place, Taylor installed the Anti-Terrorist Unit , the Special Operations Division of the Liberian National Police (LNP), which he used as his private army. During his presidency, Taylor was alleged to have been involved directly in the Sierra Leone Civil War . He was accused of aiding the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) through weapon sales in exchange for blood diamonds . Due to

4425-548: The physical realm has foundations in the spirit world". One of the social functions of secret societies like the Poro and Sande is to deter antisocial behavior or beliefs. Poro elders will determine cases of alleged witchcraft in the community. The Poro society has its own special rituals, language, ancient Saharan script, tattooing , and symbols. Details are scarce, due to an oath of secrecy. However, versions and iterations of this have been made public e.g. Vai Script , Mende Script , and Kpelle syllabary . Those responsible for

4500-551: The proceeding and was not present. Through a letter that was read by his attorney to the court, he justified his absence by alleging that at that moment he was not ensured a fair and impartial trial. On 20 August 2007, Taylor's defence, now led by Courtenay Griffiths , obtained a postponement of the trial until 7 January 2008. During the trial, the chief prosecutor alleged that a key insider witness who testified against Taylor went into hiding after being threatened for giving evidence against Taylor. Furthermore, Joseph "Zigzag" Marzah,

4575-429: The prosecution finished presenting its evidence against Taylor and closed its case on 27 February 2009. On 4 May 2009, a defence motion for a judgment of acquittal was dismissed, and arguments for Taylor's defence began in July 2009. Taylor testified in his own defence from July through November 2009. The defence rested its case on 12 November 2010, with closing arguments set for early February 2011. On 8 February 2011,

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4650-413: The public release of these scripts have claimed receipt of them through dreams when engaging with Europeans in the 19th and 20th century CE. This was done to conceal the origin of these scripts from European Colonisers. The Poro society usually meets in the dry season, between the months of October and May. The rendezvous is in the bush, at an enclosure, separated into apartments by mats and roofed only by

4725-497: The summer, Taylor's government controlled only about a third of Liberia: Monrovia and the central part of the country. More than one-third of the total population lived in this area. On 7 March 2003, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) issued a sealed indictment for Taylor. Earlier that year, Liberian forces had killed Sam Bockarie , a leading member of the RUF in Sierra Leone, in a shootout under Taylor's orders. Some have claimed that Taylor ordered Bockarie killed to prevent

4800-427: The taboo has been laid upon crops. In 1897 the British local government was compelled to pass a special ordinance forbidding the imposition of the taboo on all indigenous products. In 2009, rock-throwing Poro members protested the selection of Elizabeth Simbiwa Sogbo-Tortu as the first female chief of the Nimiyama Chiefdom in eastern Sierra Leone. They barred her from taking office. During his rule, Charles Taylor

4875-442: The trial court ruled in a 2–1 decision that it would not accept Taylor's trial summary, as the summary had not been submitted by the 14 January deadline. In response, Taylor and his counsel boycotted the trial and refused an order by the court to begin closing arguments. This boycott came soon after the 2010 leak of American diplomatic cables , in which the United States discussed the possibility of extraditing Taylor for prosecution in

4950-445: The two countries. Three days after Nigeria announced its intent to transfer Taylor to Liberia, the leader disappeared from the seaside villa where he had been living in exile. A week before that, Nigerian authorities had taken the unusual step of allowing local press to accompany census takers into Taylor's Calabar compound. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo was scheduled to meet with President Bush less than 48 hours after Taylor

5025-484: Was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity as a result of his support for the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group in the Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002). Domestically, Taylor attempted to consolidate power through dictatorial means such as by purging the military and committing violence against his political rivals, including an assassination attempt of former ULIMO commander Roosevelt Johnson , leading to violent clashes in Monrovia in 1998 . As

5100-419: Was delivered to the SCSL. The SCSL prosecutor originally indicted Taylor on 3 March 2003 on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict in Sierra Leone. On 16 March 2006, a SCSL judge gave leave to amend the indictment against Taylor. Under the amended indictment, Taylor was charged with 11 counts. At Taylor's initial appearance before the court on 3 April 2006, he entered

5175-502: Was detained by UN authorities in Sierra Leone and then at the Penitentiary Institution Haaglanden in The Hague , awaiting trial by the Special Court. He was found guilty in April 2012 of all eleven charges levied by the Special Court, including terror, murder and rape. In May 2012, Taylor was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Reading the sentencing statement, Presiding Judge Richard Lussick said: "The accused has been found responsible for aiding and abetting as well as planning some of

5250-400: Was extradited and flown to Rotterdam Airport in the Netherlands. He was taken into custody and held in the detention centre of the International Criminal Court , located in the Scheveningen section of The Hague. The Association for the Legal Defence of Charles G. Taylor was established in June 2006 to assist in his legal defence. When Taylor's trial opened on 4 June 2007, Taylor boycotted

5325-406: Was frequently accused of atrocities, and is thought to have been backed by the government of neighboring Guinea . This uprising signaled the beginning of the Second Liberian Civil War . By early 2003, LURD had gained control of northern Liberia. That year, a second Ivorian -backed rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), emerged in southern Liberia and achieved rapid success. By

5400-427: Was reported missing. Speculation ensued that Bush would refuse to meet with Obasanjo if Taylor were not apprehended. Less than 12 hours prior to the scheduled meeting between the two heads of state, Taylor was reported apprehended en route to Liberia. On 29 March, Taylor tried to cross the border into Cameroon through the border town of Gamboru in northeastern Nigeria. His Range Rover with Nigerian diplomatic plates

5475-553: Was stopped by border guards, and Taylor's identity was eventually established. Upon his arrival at Roberts International Airport in Harbel , Liberia, Taylor was arrested and handcuffed by LNP officers, who immediately transferred responsibility for the custody of Taylor to the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). Irish UNMIL soldiers escorted Taylor aboard a UN helicopter to Freetown , Sierra Leone, where he

5550-410: Was the abundance of feathers stuck in their shirts and their red caps. While the identification of the Mane is relatively uncontroversial, scholars have produced highly divergent accounts of their invasion(s) of the coastal areas. The central disagreement is whether there was a single Mane invasion that impacted both Liberia and Sierra Leone, or rather waves of invaders who followed different paths over

5625-751: Was willing to host the trial but would not jail him if convicted. British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett stated that new legislation would be required to accommodate this arrangement. This legislation came in the form of the International Tribunals (Sierra Leone) Act 2007. While awaiting his extradition to the Netherlands, Taylor was held in a UN jail in Freetown. On 16 June 2006, the United Nations Security Council agreed unanimously to allow Taylor to be sent to Leidschendam for trial; on 20 June 2006, Taylor

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