The government of Sierra Leone says “justice has been done” with the sentencing of former Liberian president Charles Taylor.

Government spokesman Sheka Tarawalie said Wednesday that Taylor's 50-year prison sentence for war crimes and crimes against humanity was welcome news for victims who may now find some relief.

Some Sierra Leonians expressed disappointment with the sentence, saying it was too short.

However, the former chief prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone tells VOA that Taylor's sentence is “appropriate.”

David Crane says Taylor's sentence represents the “end of an era” for a man who played a central role in atrocities that destroyed lives in Sierra Leone.

“I am pleased for the people of Sierra Leone who finally have seen final justice for the one man who was really the center point in aiding and abetting a horror story that destroyed their lives.”

Taylor was convicted for supporting rebels who killed, raped, and mutilated thousands of people during Sierra Leone's civil war.

Ibrahim Jalloh, a leader of a Sierra Leone expatriates' group in the Netherlands, expressed approval of the sentence. He said Taylor deserved the jail term because the rebels committed “a very serious crime” in Sierra Leone.