Sierra Leone court says Taylor must face justice to ensure lasting peace in Liberia

Declaring that President Charles Taylor's departure from power in Liberia was a "significant, but incomplete" step in West Africa's struggle for peace and stability, the prosecutor for a special war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone today called on the international community to ensure that the former Liberian leader stood trial for the charges against him.

"There can be no true peace while [Mr. Taylor] remains at large," said David Crane, Chief Prosecutor for the Freetown-based Special Court for Sierra Leone. He called on the international community to take the steps necessary to make certain that Mr. Taylor was arrested and brought before the tribunal, and noted that West African leaders as well as the United Nations had assured his office that an international war crimes indictment "was not considered open to negotiation and ransom."

On 4 June, the Special Court unsealed its indictment against Mr. Taylor, which included an international warrant for his arrest. He is charged as one of those "bearing the greatest responsibility" for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during Sierra Leone's bloody 10-year civil war. The alleged crimes include murder, taking hostages, sexual slavery, and the use of child soldiers.