Nigeria: Taylor's Son Arrested in US

[Richard Akindele]

Authorities in United States have announced the arrest of Charles Taylor Jr, the son of former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, who is presently in detention of the War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone.

The Liberian leader himself will however make his first appearance in court tomorrow, a United Nations spokesperson said yesterday.

The 29 year-old Taylor Jnr also known as Charles McArthur Emmanuel, was the head of his father's security forces from 1997 till the end of his tenure.

He was trying to obtain false passport before his arrest yesterday at the Miami International Airport after arriving from the Caribbean Island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, authorities said. He lied about his father's identity in the US passport application.

He has made his initial appearance in a Miami Magistrates court and his next court appearance is Wednesday.

The US criminal complaint against Emmanuel, a US citizen (because he was born in the United States) said he did not identify Taylor as his father when he sought a new US passport at the US consulate in Trinidad and Tobago's capital, Port of Spain, this month.

The complaint said Emmanuel's mother, Bernice Yolanda Emmanuel, had told investigators that he joined his father in West Africa before 1997 and lived in Liberia during Taylor's presidency up to 2003.

"According to her, Taylor appointed Emmanuel the head of Liberia's Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU)," the complaint stated and added that the ATU was in charge of Taylor's personal security.

Emmanuel is also included on a UN list of people banned from travelling to Liberia, but he is listed under another name, Charles "Chuckie" Taylor Jr., according to the complaint.

Meanwhile, the proceedings against Mr. Taylor, who has been under detention in the UN-backed Special Court since Wednesday when he arrived from Nigeria, will begin in the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown tomorrow.

The Court has however requested that he be tried in The Hague because of safety concerns. But earlier yesterday, United Nations(UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan told reporters that "everybody agrees it to be wiser" to move the trial to The Hague and he noted that the Security Council had been following developments relating to Mr. Taylor "very, very closely."

The 15-member Council has not yet acted on the request, but there needs to be a Headquarters Agreement to facilitate the proposal and a Council Resolution for the Government of the Netherlands to provide the legal basis for the Court to sit within its national jurisdiction.

Mr. Taylor had arrived in Sierra Leone by United Nations helicopter on Wednesday, after being deported to Liberia from Nigeria, where he had been exiled three years ago as part of a peace deal that helped bring an end to Liberia's decade of civil war. "The initial appearance of Charles Taylor before the Special Court for Sierra Leone will take place on Monday, 3 April at 3:00 pm (1500 GMT)," the court said in a statement at the weekend.

Monday's hearing will take place before Justice Richard Lussick, at the UN Special Court complex where the former strongman has been held in custody since Wednesday following his arrest after he was repatriated from Nigeria.

The court said Taylor "is considering possibilities in respect of his legal representation." The Liberian Catholic-run Radio Veritas said at the weekend that four top Liberian lawyers and four Ghanaian attorneys were headed to Freetown to stand in defence of Taylor.

"It is his right to be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing," the court said. "He also has the right to be assigned counsel if he is found to not have sufficient means to pay for it," he said.

Taylor faces charges including murder, sexual violence and unlawful use of child soldiers, which will be read to the 58-year-old former rebel chieftain and he will be asked to enter his plea.

Meantime, Taylor's former wife, Jewel Howard Taylor is demanding access to her estranged husband, and five other family members said they were on their way to Freetown to check on his well being.

Howard Taylor, who is under a UN sanctions travel ban, has also formally asked the UN to grant her permission to go to Freetown ,to meet with his estranged husband.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200604030101.html