Interpol issue warrant for Liberian Taylor arrest
International police body Interpol issued a global arrest warrant today for ousted Liberian leader Charles Taylor, with a warning that he “may be dangerous.”
The Red Notice warrant for Charles Ghankay Taylor said he was wanted for “crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.”
Attached to the warrant was a photo of Taylor in a suit and tie and a warning in bold type: “Person may be dangerous.”
“If you have any information contact your national or local police,” the notice said. The warrant was issued in Sierra Leone.
“It’s an international arrest warrant,” said an Interpol official. “He is sought throughout the entire world," she added.
Taylor, 55, has been indicted for alleged war crimes by a UN backed court in Sierra Leone.
He has lived in exile in southern Nigeria since early August, when he fled, under international pressure, as rebels laid siege to the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
A former warlord, Taylor launched Liberia into 14 years of conflict in 1989, when he led an initially small insurgency to overthrow the government.
Interpol’s red notices allow warrants to be circulated worldwide, with a request that the wanted person be arrested so they can be extradited.
While a red notice cannot force countries to arrest or extradite a suspect, it announces that the Lyon-based international police organisation is satisfied that an arrest is justified.
