Charles Taylor; GENOCIDE WARLORD CLAIMS HIS RIGHT TO A FAMILY LIFE
An African warlord guilty of crimes against humanity is suing Britain for
denying him his right to a family life.
Charles
Taylor, who allegedly ate the hearts of his enemies, is serving 50 years in a
Durham jail.
The UK
agreed to imprison him after he was convicted at the Hague of a horrifying
campaign of rape, murder and terrorism that cost tens of thousands of lives in
Sierra Leone.
But
yesterday the 66-year-old lodged legal papers claiming his detention in Britain
denies his human rights.
He says
his wife and 15 children – some of them criminals too – should not have to
travel from Africa to visit him. Taylor also claims he fears being attacked in
Frankland jail.
The former
Liberian president fuelled a civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone to seize
its 'blood diamonds', some of which he gave to Naomi Campbell when he met the
supermodel at a dinner in honour of Nelson Mandela in 1997.
The
British Government will be forced to spend tens of thousands of pounds
contesting the case and flying Taylor to the Netherlands for his appeal.
Whitehall
officials described his claim as the 'ultimate perversion of the concept of
human rights'. One said: 'This is simply disgusting. He is a war criminal. He
doesn't get to choose where he serves his sentence. As for his right to a
family life – what a sick joke.'
Tory MP
Dominic Raab said: 'It shows the corruption of human rights that such a brutal
warlord convicted of crimes against humanity, including terrorism, rape and
conscripting child soldiers, thinks he can claim jail violates his right to
family life.
'If he's
successful, it would turn British human rights laws into a laughing stock
around the world.'
Taylor's
case will be heard by Judge Philip Waki at the UN-backed Special Court for
Sierra Leone, which has £1million funding from the Foreign Office.
The former despot has already appointed two lawyers in England, including a QC.
The fees are likely to be picked up by the court.
The case
is the latest appalling example of criminals claiming they have a right to a
family life, which is enshrined in law by a series of treaties, conventions and
other international obligations. Convicts normally cite these rules to stay in
Britain whereas Taylor wants to be transferred to Rwanda.
His wife,
Victoria Addison Taylor, claimed his incarceration among 'common British
prisoners' was humiliating. She said: 'They took him to this prison where high
[risk] criminals, terrorists and other common British criminals are kept and he
is being classified as a high-risk prisoner.
'He is
going through humiliation and you cannot treat a former head of state that
way.'
Taylor
was convicted in April 2012 of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against
humanity. He aided murderous rebels in Sierra Leone's 11-year civil war that
ended in 2002 and cost around 250,000 lives.
Taylor's
trial was held at the Hague in case it sparked renewed unrest in West Africa.
In order to help bring him to justice, the Blair government agreed that he
would serve any term of imprisonment in the UK – with the taxpayer picking up
the bill.
Since the
end of 2013, he has been imprisoned in HMP Frankland at a cost of around
£50,000 a year,
But,
despite his crimes, he claims to have a human right to be near his family, who
remain in Africa. In a letter sent to the Dutch court he says it would be
easier – and less expensive – for his family to visit him in Africa.
Taylor said: 'My position is that serving my sentence in Rwanda, in my home continent of Africa, would be substantially more humane not only on my own account, but also on account of the impact on my family.'
He argues
that the court's statutes said access for prisoners' relatives should be taken
into account when deciding where they should serve their sentence.
Taylor
complains: 'My name is now associated with horrendous atrocities. Prison
inmates, whether from the region or not, are likely to be inclined to inflict
their own brand of justice by attacking me.'
Taylor's
lawyers argue that in 2011, Bosnian war criminal Radislav Krstic was attacked
in a British jail by three Muslim men, apparently in revenge for his role in
the Bosnian conflict.
He claims
the UK authorities 'may also simply be unaware of the groups that might be
particularly motivated to attack me in prison'. He adds: 'In short,
incarceration in the United Kingdom will likely – and very soon – lead to me
being seriously injured or killed.'
Taylor,
who has already lost an appeal against his conviction, is expected to demand
the right to attend the hearing.
The
Ministry of Justice, which is proud of the UK's role in bringing him to
justice, will contest his claims.
Pivotal
to the original case against him was the evidence of Miss Campbell and actress
Mia Farrow, who provided a clear link between Taylor and blood diamonds he
received in payment for arms.
London-born
Miss Campbell admitted being given a pouch of uncut gems by the president's men
after the dinner in South Africa. Taylor is thought to have acquired from the
rebels diamonds worth almost £1billion.
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