Liberia’s jailed ex-President Charles Taylor is due to begin his application of appeal at the United Nations-backed special court in The Hague.

The court sentenced Mr. Taylor to 50 years in prison last May for aiding and abetting rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone during the 1991-2002 civil war.

But defense lawyers have called the verdict a miscarriage of justice saying Mr. Taylor’s case was not treated with fairness by the court.

The Court found Taylor guilty on 11 counts of war crimes, relating to atrocities that included rape and murder.

In return for so-called blood diamonds, Taylor provided arms and both logistical and moral support to Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels – prolonging the conflict and the suffering of the people of Sierra Leone, according to the court ruling.

Meanwhile, Charles Taylor was reportedly demanding for his pension pay for his term of office as the president of Liberia.

It however, it generated public criticisms with some ageing that he is not entitle to any benefit so far as he has been convicted by a competent court of jurisdiction.

Mr. Taylor will now know his final fate with this appeal application which is the last resort for him to possible escape punishment although many in Liberia doubt that he will win the appeal.

Charles Taylor started Liberia’s civil war as a warlord in 1989, and was elected president in 1997 and he governed for six years before being forced into exile in southern Nigeria but was arrested in 2006 while trying to flee Nigeria after was wanted by a court in Liberia to answer an allegation of war crimes leveled against him.

The trial was finally moved to the Netherlands due to concerns that the case might spark fresh instability in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

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