Britain offers to jail Taylor
2006-06-15 12:05
London - Britain has promised to hold Liberia's Charles Taylor in jail if he is convicted of war crimes, paving the way for the West African country's former president to be tried in The Hague.
British foreign minister Margaret Beckett said: "I was delighted to be able to respond positively to the request of the United Nations secretary-general, that, should he be convicted, Charles Taylor serve his sentence in the United Kingdom."
She said that his presence in Sierra Leone remained a threat to peace and Britain wanted to demonstrate its commitment to international justice.
Taylor, a former teacher who became one of Africa's most feared warlords, was awaiting trial at a UN-backed war crimes tribunal in the capital of Sierra Leone, a former British colony and Liberia's neighbour.
Britain 'clears the way'
He faced 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for backing Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, who sent drugged child soldiers into battle, mutilated and raped civilians during the brutal conflict.
The UN-backed court had asked the Netherlands to hold the trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague because of security concerns, but needed a third country to volunteer to be his jailer.
Britain's announcement cleared the way for a UN security council resolution authorising Taylor's transfer to The Hague.
Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said during a visit to London last month that she hoped a European country would step forward and offer to hold Taylor in jail.
Taylors presence 'a threat'
She said: "We just think a little bit of distance gives us a little more comfort."
While Taylor was in prison in Sierra Leone, his presence in the region and the fact that many of his former henchmen were still at large was seen as a threat to the fragile peace in Liberia.
The chaos and brutality of Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war sparked international outrage.
Pictures of civilians with hacked off limbs shocked the world and the UN ended up sending 17 500 troops to the diamond-rich country.
RUF rebels, led by Foday Sankoh who was reported to have met Taylor at training camps in Libya, clashed with UN troops and briefly took 500 peacekeepers hostage.
Taylor was accused of arming the RUF in return for diamonds mined in rebel-held regions of the country during the war.