No immunity for Charles Taylor

A UN-backed war crimes court for Sierra Leone today dismissed ousted Liberian leader Charles Taylor’s claim of immunity from prosecution, saying his status as a former head of state did not exempt him.

Taylor, living in exile in Nigeria, is the most prominent figure indicted by the UN-Sierra Leone war crimes court. He is accused of backing Sierra Leone’s rebels in a brutal civil war while president of neighbouring Liberia.

Three judges of the court, in a brief ruling in Freetown, said that Taylor’s claim of immunity as a former head of state did not apply, because the UN-Sierra Leone court is international, not national.