Charles Taylor to serve 50 years in UK jail

The British Justice Ministry said on Thursday that the former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, will serve a 50-year jail term in Britain for aiding war crimes in Sierra Leone.

Justice Minister, Jeremy Wright, said Taylor would be transferred to a British jail following his conviction by the Special Court for Sierra Leone but did not provide a date for the transfer.

Taylor's sentence was upheld two weeks ago by a United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone.

He was found guilty of 11 crimes, including terrorism, murder, rape and the use of child soldiers by groups fighting in the 1991-2002 Liberian conflict.

Judge Richard Lussick said Taylor was responsible for 'some of the most heinous crimes in human history.'

Taylor was President of Liberia from 1997 until 2003, when he fled under pressure.

He was convicted of supplying, encouraging rebels in Sierra Leone in a campaign of terror.

Taylor, 65, was found guilty in 2012 of working with rebels in Sierra Leone in a campaign of terror that involved murder, rape, sexual slavery, looting and recruitment of child soldiers.

He also was convicted of using Sierra Leone's diamond deposits to help fund its civil war with arms and guns while enriching himself with what are commonly known as 'blood diamonds.'