LONDON, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Former Liberian President Charles Taylor arrived in Britain Tuesday to serve out the rest of his 50-year sentence for war crimes, officials say.
Taylor, 65, had asked earlier this month to be imprisoned in Rwanda so it would be easier and cheaper for his family to visit him, the BBC reported.
In rejecting his request Tuesday, the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone said no other country "had offered or accepted to enforce the remainder of Mr. Taylor's sentence."
He was sentenced in May 2012 after being convicted of aiding rebels who committed atrocities during Sierra Leone's 1991-92 civil war in which 50,000 people died.
Taylor was convicted of 11 charges including terrorism, rape, murder and the use of child soldiers.
Taylor has continued to maintain he is innocent of the charges.
Britain sent 800 paratroopers to Sierra Leone in 2000 to protect the capital, which was threatened by rebel forces. After conflict eased, British troops spent two years retraining Sierra Leone's military.
