Breaking News: Charles Taylor jailed for 50 years

Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president convicted of aiding war crimes last month, has been sentenced to 50 years imprisonment.
The prosecution at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, led by former US military prosecutor Brenda Hollis, had asked for a sentence of not less than 80 years.
The sentence is likely to be served in a British jail, as the UK is the only country that has indicated it is willing to house Mr Taylor.
Mr Taylor and his defence counsel had called the requested sentence “manifestly disproportionate and excessive”.
Mr Taylor’s counsel, British barrister Courtenay Griffiths, asked that Mr Taylor not be forced to serve his time in Britain, saying he would be “culturally isolated”.
Mr Taylor was convicted on 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for having aided and abetted the rebels in the civil war in Civil War from 1998 to 2002.
He provided the rebels with arms and was involved in planning military operations that led to atrocities. He received in exchange shipments of diamonds from Sierra Leone mines.