JURIST - Paper Chase: Denmark declines request to take custody of Taylor after trial

[JURIST] Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller [official profile] said Tuesday that Denmark intended to turn down a request to take custody of former Liberian President Charles Taylor [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] should he be convicted of war crimes charges [indictment, PDF] by the Special Court for Sierra Leone [official website]. The court has asked to use International Criminal Court facilities [JURIST report] at The Hague in the Netherlands for the trial, citing security concerns should the proceeding remain in Sierra Leone. Dutch authorities have said they will grant the request, but only on the condition that another country accept custody of Taylor immediately after proceedings conclude.

UN negotiators have so far been unsuccessful in finding a country willing to take custody of Taylor [JURIST report] and both Austria and Sweden have also rejected requests to take Taylor [JURIST report]. Taylor has petitioned the court [JURIST report] to keep his trial in Sierra Leone. BBC News has more.

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