80 years recommended for Charles Taylor

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, May 4 (UPI) -- Former Liberian President Charles Taylor helped plan the most violent chapter of Sierra Leone's war and should spend his life in jail, prosecutors said.

Last week, a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, convicted Taylor of aiding and abetting in the commission of 11 war crimes or crimes against humanity during overlapping wars in Liberia and neighboring Sierra Leone.

The court found Taylor knew of rebel atrocities committed in Sierra Leone during the country's 1991-2002 civil war. He was accused of using so-called blood diamonds to purchase weapons to fuel the rebellion.

Prosecutors, in a 77-page sentencing brief, described decapitated heads placed at checkpoints, public disembowelments, public rapes and the burning to death of civilians during the height of the war.

The prosecution said it was recommending an 80-year prison term for the 64-year-old former Liberian president.

"The brutality and impact on civilians should be reflected in Mr. Taylor's sentence," the brief read.

Taylor pleaded innocent and can appeal the charges.

An estimated 50,000 people were killed in the 11-year civil war. Taylor is the first sitting or former head of state to face prosecution by a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 30.