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of the special court in sierra leone, where the presiding judge is ruling over the trial of the hacharles taylor. let's continue to listen to the presiding judge. we do seem to have lost that picture for the moment. as i said, this is the judgment day for the former liberian leader, charles taylor. the presiding judge is giving his verdict of 11 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. i think we can go over to the hague now and our correspondent, peter. peter, can you summarize what we

have heard so far? it has been incredibly complex and complicated. >> the presiding judge, judge richard lussick, has not used the word guilty, but he said they have found him criminally responsible. this goes to the heart of the prosecution case against charles taylor. the prosecution has been trying to show that charles taylor had command responsibility for the ruf activities in sierra leone. he said they failed to prove, and responsibility, and that charles taylor's influence fell short of command and control. they have found him criminally irresponsible for aiding and abetting the ruf rebels. >> i'm aware that you are listening to this as it's happening, but are we to assume,

therefore, that aiding and abetting is something less than being found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity? >> i cannot say at this stage. obviously, judge richard lussick is not yet finished. it has been proceeding for more than two hours. he seems to have some way to go. we heard a detailed account of the war in sierra leone and charles taylor's role in it. it is a complicated case. >> let me bring into the studio the deputy ambassador -- the high commissioner, i'm sorry, for sierra leone. what goes through your mind watching this verdict being delivered? >> a man like charles taylor, we

all know, a warlord, and the atrocities, the horrible crimes he has carried out -- first of all, what ever sentence that is passed on him cannot compensate what he has done in sierra leone. we have mixed feelings. everyone in sierra leone is anxious and glued to their television to see the final verdict by the trial judge. >> i should tell our viewers around the world that we are not looking at live pictures. these are recorded. we do not seem to have a live feed at the moment. there is no punishment or verdict that will couaccount for it? >> exactly. exactly. after the war, we thought we

established the truth and reconciliation commission. when you look at the external factors, you will see thae part this horrible man, this evil man has played in the lives of people in sierra leone. even though it will not account for what he has done, but for justice to prevail at last. >> peter made this point that it is very difficult to work out exactly which way the court is going. we are in the middle of the process. that is what this verdict is. so far, there seems to be a sense that the court feels that as far as command and control is involved, ultimate responsibility, the prosecution has failed to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt. >> yes, but at the same time, i'm pretty sure the judge is going to establish the fact that based upon the evidence so

far heard that he did fuel the war in sierra leone. >> he has not said that. >> the truth and reconciliation commission in sierra leone, as was established by an act of parliament in july 2004, did make such an assumption that he did fuel the war in sierra leone. >> is this court case, is this verdict, part of the closure for the people of sierra leone in a sense -- that they can put that horrible chapter behind them? >> people who are very tolerant -- people of sierra leone are very, very tolerant. even before this trial, if you go to sierra leone, you'll see for yourself that people are moving ahead.

this is what matters. even though we still have a long way to go -- the psychological trauma that the children went through -- >> i am sorry to interrupt you. we have got our live pictures back. let's go back to the hague and the presiding judge. >> the accused, having drawn up the plan and have been followed its implementation closely by daily communications, was aware of the continuing evolution. as mentioned previously, the accused was well aware of the crimes committed by the forces in the course of their military operations, and that the war

strategy was explicitly based on a widespread or systematic campaign of crimes against civilians. moreover, by his instruction to make the operation fearful, which was repeated many times during the course of the invasion, and by his instruction to use all means, the accused demonstrated his awareness of the substantial likelihood that crimes would be committed in the execution of a plan. for the foregoing reasons, the accused is criminally responsible, pursuant to article 61, for planning the crimes the liberian fighters in the invasion of freetown and

during the retreat from freetown. while the accused held a position of authority among the ruf ad the rufauic, the instructions he gave were generally of an advisory nature and at times were not followed by the leadership. for these reasons, the accused cannot be held responsible for ordering the commission of crimes. the trial chamber, having already found that the accused is criminally responsible for aiding and abetting the commission of the crimes in counts one through 11 and the indictment does not find that the accused also instigated those crimes. this brings me to the verdict.

i will ask the accused, mr. taylor, will you please stand for the verdict of the trial chamber? having considered all the evidence and the arguments of the parties, the statute, and the rules, and based upon the findings determined by the trial chamber and its judgment, the trial chamber unanimously find you guilty of aiding and abetting the commission of the following crimes, pursuant to article 61 of the statute during the indictment period, and planning the commission of the following crimes in the attacks in december 1998, and during the invasion and retreat from freetown between december 1998 and february 1999.

kelli one. acts of terrorism and a violation of article 3 according to the geneva conventions. count two. murder, crime against humanity, pursuant to article 2a of the statute. count three. violence, murder, violation of article 3, and to the geneva conventions and other protocols, too. count four. rape, a crime against humanity. count five. sexual slavery, a crime against humanity. count six.

outrages upon personal dignity, a violation of article 3, common to the geneva conventions and of additional protocol, too. couont seven. by winds to life, health, physical or mental well-being of persons, in particular cruel treatment. count eight. other inhumane acts, crimes against humanity. count nine, in listing children under the age of 15 years into the armed forces or groups and using them to participate actively in hostilities --

another serious violation of international humanitarian law, pursuant to article 4c of the statute. count 10. enslavement, a crime against humanity. count 11. pillage, a violation of article 3, common to the geneva conventions and other additional protocol, too. thank you, mr. taylor. you can sit down now. we come now to the sentencing process. firstly, i remind the parties of their obligation under rule 100, which provides for the submission of information relevant to sentencing by the prosecution no more than seven days after conviction, and by the defense, no more than seven

days after the prosecution's filing. this seven-day period runs from the date of conviction, which is today, by the trial chamber's calculation, in order to comply with the rule 100, the prosecution's filing must be made by close of business thursday, may 3. the defense filing under rule 100 on the trial chamber's calculation must be no more than seven days after that, which would be by close of business thursday, may 10. under rule 100, the parties can provide information related to factors that affect sentencing, which would include written submissions and testimonials, if any. the extensive judgment summary that is being delivered today

will suffice for this purpose, since it is a reasoned opinion of the trial chamber, which sets out comprehensively the grounds for convicting mr. taylor. secondly, the trial chamber considers that this is an appropriate case for a sentencing hearing. such a hearing, which will be for additional oral arguments only, for wednesday, may 16 at 9:30 a.m. at the sentencing hearing, the prosecution shall limit the length of its sentencing submissions to a time not exceeding one hour. the defense shall limit the length of its sentencing submissions to a time not exceeding one hour. if mr. taylor wishes to address

the court prior to being sentenced, then this will be his opportunity to do so, and he shall limit the length of his address, if any, to a time not exceeding 30 minutes. thirdly, a sentencing judge will be pronounced on wednesday, may 30 at 11:00 a.m. lastly, the accused is remanded until wednesday, may 16 at 9:30 a.m. for a sentencing hearing fau. the court is hereby adjourned to that date. >> i would like to say something before the court is adjourned. >> all rise.

>> there you go. the judge saying that in fact charles taylor, the former liberian leader remanded on bail off for a sentencing hearing. it was quite difficult to work out the nuances of that judgment, though clearly the special court for sierra leone has found charles taylor criminally responsible for aiding and abetting crimes of humanity and war crimes in sierra leone in the 1990's and early 2000's. some are suggesting he was not found guilty of instigation. let's go courtside now and talk to our correspondent, peter biles. i hate to do this to you. you have not had much time.

can you shed any light on what exactly we have heard? >> more than a little confusion here. i think my understanding of this is -- charles taylor has been found guilty of aiding and abetting the ruf rebels during the civil war and providing support to them. he was found criminally responsible for aiding and abetting them on all charges. he was found criminally responsible for planning many of the crimes. going to the heart of the prosecution's case, the prosecution was not able to prove that charles taylor had command responsibility or that there was a common plan. joining me to shed more light on this is a guest from human- rights watch. what is your understanding of what we've heard? >> my understanding is that charles taylor is found guilty of aiding and abetting the crimes committed in sierra leone by the rebel forces. that is murder, enslavement,

recruitment of child soldiers, and winning some of the crimes. this is an incredibly significant decision and shows that even those at the highest levels can be held to account for the worst crimes. >> how important is it that they were not able to prove there was command responsibility, that he was the man giving the instructions to the ruf? >> what is key is that he was found criminally responsible for aiding and abetting the crimes. that is a guilty verdict and charles taylor has been called to account for the crimes sierra leone. >> we know that whatever the outcome was going to be today, both sides have the right to appeal. there's no doubt the defense will do that almost immediately. >> we can expect the appeal of the decision. nevertheless, today is a landmark moment. this is really the first time a former head of state is facing a judgment for these types of crimes. >> it has been a very long and complex case. you have followed it since the beginning, since the indictment

in 2003, over the course of nine years. it is that a long period that was not expected, or woulas it is going to be the case that this would be hard to unravel? >> the justice process is incredibly complex and sensitive. it is not a surprise it would take a substantial period of time did mon. charles taylor was initially given safe haven in nigeria. this shows that while justice may not always be possible immediately, it can and will be done. that is really a signal to other suspects who are at liberty right now, such as al-bashir for crimes in darfur. an incredible day for justice and for victims in sierra leone. >> charles taylor found guilty

of aiding and abetting the ruf rebels in sierra leone during that bitter civil war during the period of 10 or 11 years from 1991. criminally responsible on all 11 judges. as we heard from judge richard lussick, sentencing will take place next month in may. >> thank you very much. thank you. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world. prime minister yousuf raza gilani has been found guilty of contempt of court. he was accused of refusing to reopen an old corruption case. lawyers for gilani say they will appeal the sentence. let's get more on this from our correspondent, aleem maqbool, who is in islamabad.

there have been calls for him to step down, aleem. >> yes, there have been calls for him to step down. there's no doubt that the prime minister and his supporters will be celebrating today. it was always difficult to see how the supreme court on one side, or mr. gilani, were going to get out of this process without one of them backing down. the supreme court said they issued this judgment a couple of years ago. they told them to reopen the case against the president. on the other hand, you have prime minister yousuf raza gilani saying he can not reopen cases against the president because he enjoys immunity under the constitution. in the end, the court ceded ground. it did issue a guilty verdict. the quarter rose just 30 seconds

later. in effect, mr. gilaniserved a 30-second jail term did he was free to leave the court and he was free to continue as prime minister. >> thank you very much. rupert murdoch is appearing for a second day of questioning in the inquiry into press standards in london. he is chairman of news corp. he is being asked about the phone hacking scandal. in the last hour, mr. murdoch spoke of a cover-up of illegal activity at his media organization. >> there's no question in my mind that maybe even the editor, but certainly beyond that, someone took charge of a cover- up, which we were victim to and

i regret. perhaps i'm getting ahead of myself or getting ahead of you when i say that, you know, we did take steps after the conviction and resignation of mr. colson. a new editor was appointed with specific instructions to find out what was going on. >> our political correspondent joins me now. we've been concentrating on the charles taylor case all day. you have to bring us up to date. he is using the word "cover-up." >> he is still saying it's not at his level or at the level of his senior executives. he says it was lowered down the chain of command. they were shielding him from what was going on. he is also continuing to blame

the police for not investigating properly and also perhaps most of the blame is on his own lawyers. even at one point, he says he wished he brought all his lawyers out of the ring at one point. >> one could argue that is his hope that it is over now. >> it's pretty obvious from all the evidence that we've now heard that there was a cover up. it is significant that he uses that word. in the last few days, we've had more and more scrutiny of his dealings with politicians, and especially his dealings with mr. cameron at a time when the were launching a full

buyout of bskyb. >> he is trying to clear not only himself, but also his son, who is getting an awful lot of criticism. >> he still has a very protective arm around his son. he was asked if he was surprised when his son arranged for a huge payoff of one of the victims of phone hacking. he said his son was just a little inexperienced at the time. >> thank you for that update. that is all for the moment. stay with us on "bbc world news." there is plenty more to come. mkw >> make sense of internation

news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.