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World & Nation

Former Liberian president convicted

People in Freetown, Sierra Leone, watch Charles Taylor, on screen, as his trial is broadcast from the Netherlands.

People in Freetown, Sierra Leone, watch Charles Taylor, on screen, as his trial is broadcast from the Netherlands.  (Issouf Sanogo / AFP / Getty Images)

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Former Liberian President Charles Taylor’s conviction in the Netherlands by an international tribunal on charges of abetting war crimes in Sierra Leone sent a powerful message to other warlords that they will eventually face justice, human rights activists and prosecutors say. But it also highlights what can be a wrenching tension between pursuing justice or peace in some of the most violent, chaotic corners of the world.

Sierra Leone civil war victim

Alhaji Jusu Jarka, chairman of an amputees group in Sierra Leone, walks outside the court in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where the trial was being broadcast. Amputations were among the war crimes that former Liberian President Charles Taylor was found guilty of abetting.  (Issouf Sanogo / AFP / Getty Images)

Witnesses to history

Sierra Leone local chiefs arrive to watch the Freetown broadcast of the trial.   (Issouf Sanogo / AFP / Getty Images)

War crimes victim

Mohamed Traore, in Freetown, shows the injuries he suffered during the violence in Sierra Leone. Former Liberian President Charles Taylor was convicted of arming rebels in Sierra Leone’s civil war in exchange for “blood diamonds,” among other crimes.  (Issouf Sanogo / AFP / Getty Images)

War crimes victim

In this file photo, Yanor Kanu sits at a hospital window in a rehabilitation center near Freetown, Sierra Leone.  (Christine Nesbitt / Associated Press)

Charles Taylor as rebel leader

Charles Taylor in his days as a rebel leader. His resistance group overthrew the Liberian government of Samuel Doe, sparking civil war and eventually leading to Taylor’s hold on power.  (Pascal Guyot / AFP / Getty Images)

Taylor in Liberia, 2003

Then-Liberian President Charles Taylor is sheltered under an umbrella as he steps out of his limousine to attend his mother’s funeral in Monrovia.  (Georges Gobet / AFP / Getty Images)

Passing of power

Taylor and his wife, Jewel Howard-Taylor, after he officially handed power to Vice President Moses Blah, amid international pressure and after the war crimes indictment was issued by the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone.   (Ben Curtis / Associated Press)

Brought to trial

Taylor arrives at Rotterdam The Hague Airport for his trial before the special tribunal.  (Guido Benschop / EPA)

Rebels led by Charles Taylor

Revolutionary United Front rebels ride in a pickup truck at their base on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor sponsored the atrocities the militia carried out.  (Enric Marti / Associated Press)

Children of war

Children serving with Sierra Leone troops get ready to fight rebels of the Revolutionary United Front near Masiaka, east of Freetown.  (Jean-Philippe Ksiazek / AFP / Getty Images)

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