Days after prosecution and defense lawyers concluded their oral arguments in the ongoing appeal's hearing of ex-President Charles Taylor against his 50-years sentence at the UN backed Special Court for Sierra Leone sitting in The Hague, the Court has convicted one of its former defense investigator on five counts of contempt.

The defense investigator Prince Taylor, was convicted last Friday on five contempt counts for interfering with witnesses who had testified in the trial ex-President Taylor.

Four of the counts for which he was convicted related to attempts by Taylor to induce former Prosecution witnesses, through Eric Koi Senessie, to recant testimony they had given before the Court, a special court release said.

The fifth count, according to the special court is related to "instructing and otherwise persuading Eric Senessie to give false information to the Independent Counsel appointed by the Registrar on the order of Trial Chamber II" at a time when he was a potential Prosecution witness.

Senessie, a former RUF member who was convicted in June 2012 on eight counts of interference with the same witnesses, gave testimony against Prince Taylor at his trial.

Taylor was acquitted on four counts of offering a bribe to witnesses to induce them to recant their testimony. A sentencing judgment will be scheduled at a later date.