First US Torture Law Case: Liberian Dictator's Son

A grand jury in Miami recently found there was enough evidence that Charles Taylor, Jr. (now legally known as Roy M. Belfast Jr.) can stand trial for torture, conspiracy to commit torture and using a firearm to assist in torture under a 1994 US federal torture law. This law has never been applied before, but Taylor is a perfect candidate as he is both a US citizen and currently in the US, even though the statute requires only one of the two. Taylor apparently tortured a man in Liberia, where his father was President, in 2002. Charles Taylor, Sr. is currently facing trial for human rights violations.

Liberian victims are very happy to see the US moving forward with this prosecution, and hope that other perpetrators will be dealt with in the future. I echo this sentiment and am glad to see human rights violators tried wherever they may be found. I cannot believe that this law has been in force for a dozen years and never used. In reading the article it appears that politics, among other things, have been responsible for its dormancy.