Charles Taylor to serve sentence in Britain

The British government says former Liberian president Charles Taylor will be transferred to a U.K. prison to serve his 50-year sentence for sponsoring atrocities in Sierra Leone.

   

Taylor, 65, is the first former head of state convicted by an international war crimes court since World War II.

   

The Special Court for Sierra Leone found him guilty in April 2012 of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including terrorism, murder, rape and using child soldiers. His conviction and sentence were upheld at appeal last month.

   

British Justice Minister Jeremy Wright wrote in a letter to parliament Thursday that Taylor "will now be transferred to a prison in the U.K."

   

A court spokesman would not immediately confirm where Taylor would be imprisoned.

   

-Sapa-AP