Seraphim
12-04-2003, 10:43 AM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&ncid=578&e=4&u=/nm/20031204/ts_nm/liberia_taylor_interpol_dc
By Mark John
PARIS (*******) - International police organization Interpol issued an arrest notice on Thursday for former Liberian President Charles Taylor, indicted for war crimes in Sierra Leone and now living in exile in Nigeria.
The "red notice," issued at the request of the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, is not an arrest warrant but can be used by police to make a provisional arrest pending extradition.
As with all such notices, a passport-style photograph of Taylor appeared on Interpol's Web site, accompanied by the caption: Taylor, Charles Ghankay. Born on 28 January 1948. Nationality Liberia (news - web sites). Age today: 55 years old.
Taylor, long seen as the mastermind behind years of intertwined conflicts in West Africa, is accused of arming rebels during Sierra Leone's long civil war in return for diamonds. The rebels became notorious for hacking off civilians' limbs, mass rape and the recruitment of child soldiers.
"The office of the prosecutor said the Interpol 'Red Notice' will serve as a reminder that Charles Taylor remains a fugitive from justice. The office said there was no amnesty from crimes against humanity," the Special Court for Sierra Leone said.
"The prosecutor added that Mr. Taylor's indictment will not go away and that he remains wanted by the international community to face the very serious charges against him," it added in a statement.
There was no immediate reaction to the warrant from Nigeria, which allowed Taylor into the country in August as part of a plan agreed by African nations to resolve a conflict in Liberia.
The former warlord, who was elected president in 1997, came under pressure to leave from rebels who advanced on the Liberian capital, Monrovia, and from diplomats who said his departure was vital to end years of violence.
The Sierra Leone court served a warrant for the arrest of Taylor on the Ghanaian authorities on June 4, when the Liberian president was attending a summit in Accra. The warrant was transmitted to Interpol then.
In a statement, Interpol, based in Lyon, France, said member countries complied with their own laws in deciding whether its notice represented a valid request for a provisional arrest.
Some countries allow the wanted person to be arrested pending extradition formalities, while others saw it simply as a request for information on the individual.
"The existence or not of a bilateral extradition treaty, convention or other legal instrument containing provisions on extradition is an important factor in the decision," it said.
(Additional reporting by David Clarke in Abidjan)
By Mark John
PARIS (*******) - International police organization Interpol issued an arrest notice on Thursday for former Liberian President Charles Taylor, indicted for war crimes in Sierra Leone and now living in exile in Nigeria.
The "red notice," issued at the request of the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, is not an arrest warrant but can be used by police to make a provisional arrest pending extradition.
As with all such notices, a passport-style photograph of Taylor appeared on Interpol's Web site, accompanied by the caption: Taylor, Charles Ghankay. Born on 28 January 1948. Nationality Liberia (news - web sites). Age today: 55 years old.
Taylor, long seen as the mastermind behind years of intertwined conflicts in West Africa, is accused of arming rebels during Sierra Leone's long civil war in return for diamonds. The rebels became notorious for hacking off civilians' limbs, mass rape and the recruitment of child soldiers.
"The office of the prosecutor said the Interpol 'Red Notice' will serve as a reminder that Charles Taylor remains a fugitive from justice. The office said there was no amnesty from crimes against humanity," the Special Court for Sierra Leone said.
"The prosecutor added that Mr. Taylor's indictment will not go away and that he remains wanted by the international community to face the very serious charges against him," it added in a statement.
There was no immediate reaction to the warrant from Nigeria, which allowed Taylor into the country in August as part of a plan agreed by African nations to resolve a conflict in Liberia.
The former warlord, who was elected president in 1997, came under pressure to leave from rebels who advanced on the Liberian capital, Monrovia, and from diplomats who said his departure was vital to end years of violence.
The Sierra Leone court served a warrant for the arrest of Taylor on the Ghanaian authorities on June 4, when the Liberian president was attending a summit in Accra. The warrant was transmitted to Interpol then.
In a statement, Interpol, based in Lyon, France, said member countries complied with their own laws in deciding whether its notice represented a valid request for a provisional arrest.
Some countries allow the wanted person to be arrested pending extradition formalities, while others saw it simply as a request for information on the individual.
"The existence or not of a bilateral extradition treaty, convention or other legal instrument containing provisions on extradition is an important factor in the decision," it said.
(Additional reporting by David Clarke in Abidjan)