JURIST - Paper Chase: UN Security Council considers resolution to shift Taylor war crimes trial

[JURIST] Britain has circulated a draft resolution to fellow UN Security Council [official website] members that would permit the pending war crimes trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] to be moved from Sierra Leone to The Hague. UK diplomats say Taylor's continued presence in the region may pose security concerns and threaten instability following his arrest [JURIST report] in Nigeria last Wednesday after an attempted escape [JURIST report]. The draft resolution comes in response to a request [JURIST report] by the Special Court for Sierra Leone [official website] to allow the Court try him at the facilities of one of the other UN courts operating in the Dutch city. The draft resolution will likely be adopted. Meanwhile, Taylor's first court appearance before the Special Court for Sierra Leone in Freetown is still scheduled for Monday.

In related news, the US Department of Justice [official website] has reported that Taylor's son, US citizen Charles Taylor Jr., the former head of his father's presidential guard, was arrested at the Miami airport Thursday and is being held for making false statements on a passport application. BBC News has more. AP has additional coverage.

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