Sierra Leone rebel leaders sentenced

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, April 8 (UPI) -- Three former guerrilla leaders in Sierra Leone were sentenced Wednesday by a U.N. court to a total of 117 years in prison for crimes against humanity.

The U.N. Special Court for Sierra Leone in the country's capital of Freetown, found the men guilty in February of crimes including murder, rape, sexual slavery and forced marriages arising from a civil war that lasted from March 1991 until January 2002, CNN said.

Presiding Judge Pierre Boutet of Canada read the sentences:

-- Former Revolutionary United Front "interim leader" Issa Hassan Sesay, 52 years in prison.

-- Former RUF commander Morris Kallon, 40 years in prison.

-- Former RUF chief of security Augustine Gbao, 25 years in prison.

Sesay and Kallon were found guilty on 16 counts and Gbao was found guilty on 14.

The three each received credit for six years already served in prison, a court spokesman said.

Several mitigating factors played into the sentencing but "in view of the gravity of the crimes, their impact was limited," a court statement said.

The crimes "were committed upon a massive scale across several districts of Sierra Leone" and had an "enormous" impact on the country's society, the statement said. "The Chamber concluded that the inherent gravity of the criminal acts for which Sesay, Kallon and Gbao have been convicted is exceptionally high."

Corinne Dufka, a researcher in Human Rights Watch's Africa division, told CNN the group was known for leading "one of the most brutal rebel movements in modern days. Everyone knows about the signature atrocity of limb amputation but there was also horrific sexual violence, abductions, use of child soldiers and forced marriages."