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Charles Taylor arrives at Hague prisonFormer Liberian President Charles Taylor has been transported to the International Criminal Court's prison complex in the Dutch town of Scheveningen. He will be detained there for the duration of his trial by the special tribunal for Sierra Leone. The United Nations Security Council requested that the trial be held in the Netherlands as it cannot be held in Sierra Leone for security reasons. The final obstacle to a trial in the Netherlands was removed last week when Great Britain agreed to house Mr Taylor in a British prison if he is convicted. Around twenty journalists, ten police officers and a small number of bystanders witnessed on Tuesday evening how Mr Taylor was whisked into the maximum-security prison complex in a van with tinted windows. Early on Tuesday morning, Mr Taylor was flown by helicopter from his prison cell in the compound of the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone to the country's international airport at Lungi, just outside the capital Freetown. He left for the Dutch city of Rotterdam on a specially chartered flight. The final stretch to Scheveningen he was transported by van. Last hurdle removed Last week's announcement by the British government that it was willing to jail Mr Taylor if was convicted of war crimes cleared the way for his transfer to the Netherlands. The weekend then saw a flurry of activity in the Hague as the Dutch and international authorities prepared for his arrival. From a legal perspective, for instance, it is key that the Mr Taylor's stay in this country be as short as possible. The former Liberian president now falls under Dutch jurisdiction and could theoretically apply for asylum. He's being detained in the special ICC unit within the Scheveningen prison complex. There is only one other prisoner there, former Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, who's also suspected of war crimes. Indictment Charles Taylor faces seven categories of charges, many of them classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity. They include recruitment of child soldiers, unlawful killings, physical and sexual violence and attacks on UN personnel stationed in Sierra Leone. He will not be tried for war crimes he allegedly committed in Liberia. The judges and the prosecutor of the UN-backed special tribunal for Sierra Leona, as well as hundreds of witnesses will travel to The Hague as the trial gets underway. The logistical problems could be quite serious, according to Dutch lawyer Michiel Pestman, who is defending one of the accused in the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown. There will also be repercussions for the proceedings currently going on in Sierra Leone. The number of sessions will be reduced as judges travel to The Hague for Mr Taylor's trial. "It will be a lengthy and laborious operation," says Mr Pestman. "Expectations are that some two to three hundred witnesses will be heard, and these will all have to appear in court. The judges will want to be able to question all witnesses themselves and are unlikely to accept written statements, which is common practice in the Netherlands. Providing safe accommodation for all these people will require considerable organisational effort. You cannot just put them up in a hotel; special security measures will have to be taken," according to Mr Pestman. Landmark Responding to Mr Taylor's arrival in the Netherlands, Foreign Minister Ben Bot said it should be seen as a landmark event. "This is a signal from the international community that exemption from punishment will not be tolerated," he said in a statement. "I am pleased that the Netherlands, with The Hague in its capacity of legal capital of the world, can contribute in this way." In Sierra Leone, however, many people have expressed disappointment with Mr Taylor's transfer to The Hague. They would have preferred to see the tribunal's key suspect stand trial in Sierra Leone. Sebastiaan Gotlieb
20-06-2006
See also Charles Taylor arrest Hand over Charles Taylor – Liberia The Hague Tribunal War crimes trials in the dock International Criminal Court initiates first case |
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