Jailed Liberian ex-president wants his pension

— Charles Taylor may be locked up while appealing his 50-year prison sentence for war crimes, but the former Liberian president still wants his impoverished country to pay his pension.

The 64-year-old who was once one of West Africa’s most powerful figures has written Liberia’s Senate seeking at least $25,000 per year in retirement pay he insists he’s owed under the constitution.

The three-page letter decries “mammoth injustice” by the government for stalling or refusing to pay it. The letter was read in the chamber this week and is to be discussed again Tuesday.

Taylor was convicted in The Hague last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity for supporting murderous rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone’s civil war. Taylor, who ran Liberia from 1997 to 2003, has appealed the conviction.

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