Positions at a glance
Supporters
During his presidency (1997–2003), Taylor backed the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in neighboring Sierra Leone, trading weapons for so-called "blood diamonds" mined in RUF-controlled territory. This support fueled atrocities including mass amputations of civilians. A renewed insurgency by LURD and MODEL rebels, combined with mounting international pressure and a sealed indictment unsealed by the Special Court for Sierra Leone in June 2003, forced Taylor to resign on 11 August 2003 and accept asylum in Nigeria.
Opponents
Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor was a Liberian politician and warlord who launched an insurgency against President Samuel Doe in December 1989 under the banner of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). The resulting First Liberian Civil War killed an estimated 150,000–200,000 people and displaced roughly half the country's population. After a 1996 peace agreement, Taylor won the 1997 presidential election, a vote widely interpreted as driven by fear that he would resume war if defeated.
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In April 2012, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, sitting in The Hague, convicted Charles Taylor on 11 counts and later sentenced him to 50 years in prison.
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