Judges at the Hague sentence former Liberian President Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDING JUDGE RICHARD LUSSICK:<br/> <br />"The trial chamber unanimously sentences you to a single term of imprisonment of 50 years for all the counts of which you've been found guilty."<br/> <br />Sixty-four-year-old Taylor is the first head of state to be convicted by an international court since World War Two.<br/> <br />He was found guilty of backing rebels who murdered, raped and mutilated tens of thousands of people in an 11-year war that ended in 2002.<br/> <br />The Special Court for Sierra Leone ruled last month that Taylor aided and abetted Revolutionary United Front rebels in the war that left 50,000 people dead.<br/> <br />Taylor also profited from the war by trading in so-called blood diamonds that helped finance the conflict.<br/> <br />Judges at The Hague said Taylor knew about the brutality but nonetheless helped equip and fund the rebels, giving them satellite phones and money.<br/> <br />Simon Hanna, Reuters.
