A federal judge in the American state of Florida has ordered the son of former Liberian president Charles Taylor to pay $22.4 million to five people tortured during Liberia’s civil war.

By Thijs Bouwknegt

The Liberian plaintiffs sued Charles McArthur Emmanuel, also known as “Chuckie” Taylor, shortly after he was sentenced to 97 years in prison for his role in one of Africa’s bloodiest civil wars. He was the first person to be convicted by a US federal court of torture committed outside the United States.

32-year-old Emmanuel led the notorious Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), also known as the “Demon Forces” - a band of pro-government paramilitaries who murdered and tortured political opponents during his father’s presidency from 1997 to 2003.

The five victims had testified before the court that they had been tortured and abused by the ATU, saying they were submerged in water, shocked on their genitals and subject to other abuses.

Piper Hendricks, attorney for the plaintiffs, said the torture evidence is “a chilling example of man’s inhumanity to man.”

The ruling will “serve as a deterrent to others who believe they could mistreat fellow humans in this manner and never be held accountable,” she added.

At the end of the civil trial last week, Emmanuel, who is currently in prison in Illinois, dismissed the torture allegations: “This notion that I’m this human rights abuser, this poster boy for human rights abuse, is deceptive and propaganda.”

It is not known if Emmanuel has enough money to pay the damages. He claims to have nothing.

Hendricks, however, said that evidence in the elder Taylor’s war crimes trial in The Hague shows that the former president still controls accounts overseas that could be linked to Emmanuel.

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