Former Liberian President and warlord Charles G Taylor was sentenced in 2012 to 50 years imprisonment. This was the verdict of the UN-backed tribunal in the Hague after war crime allegations were levelled against him.
The former president was accused of supporting rebels from 1996 to 2002 which eventually fuelled the crisis in the neighbouring country, Sierra Leone. The list of the offences he was convicted of included sexual slavery, murder, enforced amputations, r@pe, pillage and recruitment of child soldiers.
Why Charles Taylor was jailed in UK
According to The Guardian, the judge said that his role in the war was “utmost gravity in scale and brutality.” He was then jailed in the United Kingdom at the cost of the British government
However, a Facebook user identified as Junior Duo posted on FRIES FM, claiming that Donald Trump, the new president of the United States, ordered the release of the former Liberian president. His post reads:
“US President Donald Trump has released an order to free former President Charles Taylor.”
According to Dubawa, a fact-checking organisation, none of the executive orders issued by Donald Trump since his inauguration on January 20, 2025, directed to or talk about the release of former President Taylor. Also, none of the international news platforms reported Donald Trump’s order on the release of Charles Taylor.
Why Trump can’t order Taylor’s release
Also, Taylor is under the jurisdiction of the British government and experts have said that the US president did not have the authority to order his release.
Reacting to the claim, an independent human rights lawyer, Atty. Uria’s Pour said that the court that sentenced Taylor is an independent one established between the United Nations and Sierra Leone. He said the court is not the jurisdiction of the United States government and does not operate through the mandate of the American government.
Then the human rights lawyer explained that Taylor could only be released based on the completion of his jail term and health conditions that could lead to possible departure, in which the court may decide to release him on medical grounds or otherwise.
