FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE - Three former members of Sierra Leone's Armed Forces Revolutionary Council have been sentenced for what the presiding judge described as "some of the most heinous, brutal and atrocious crimes ever recorded in human history."

After four years in court, Justice Julia Sebutinde sentenced the trio yesterday for numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed during Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war.

The court imposed single "global" sentences of 50 years each for Alex Tamba Brima and Santigie Borbor Kanu. The third man, Brima Bazzy Kamara, received a 45-year sentence.

The three were convicted on June 20 on 11 charges including unlawful killings, terrorism, sexual violence, and the use of child soldiers.

All were senior members of the AFRC that toppled the government in 1997.

The men have been given credit for time served since their arrests in 2003, and will begin serving their sentences immediately.

In her sentencing, Sebutinde listed gory details of the crimes committed: burning people to death, gang raping to death, mutilation, ripping fetuses out of women, human heads on sticks, hacking off limbs, kidnapping and training child soldiers.

The judges also noted that none of the accused had expressed remorse for their actions.

After the sentence was revealed, family members started crying. Kamara's mother sat down shaking, screaming out "Jesus!"

Hoping for lighter sentences, three rows of supporters left the courtroom upset. Fatimata Conteh, the sister of Kanu, was in shock, sobbing.

When asked for her reaction, she replied, "I don't have anything to say."

Outside on the street, observers shared their opinion on the verdict.

"All of us are victims of this war," explained student Ibrahim Bayoh, 16. "The judges were fair."

The defence is expected to appeal the judgment.

The sentencing didn't go far enough, according to 24-year-old Emmanuel Joseph Saidu.

"The entire outcome was not substantial for all of Sierra Leone," he said.

Frustrated with the amount invested in the trial of just three people he suggested, "give this money spent in the special court to the amputees and others."

The AFRC ruling is a historic moment for Sierra Leone and advocates of children's rights as it marks the first conviction and sentencing in an international court for the conscription of child soldiers. Sebutinde stressed that the child soldiers were "robbed of childhood, and lost a chance of an education."

Sierra Leone sits second last on The Human Development Index. The country is currently gearing up for national elections on Aug. 11. Many believe the polls will be a test of whether the nation is on the road to full recovery from the war.

The court has indicted 12 people in connection with the war, including the former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who is currently on trial in The Hague.

Yesterday's sentence is the first from the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a UN backed tribunal mandated to bring to justice those who bear the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed during the country's civil conflict.