^{Category: International Human Rights}

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Former Liberian president Charles Taylor (profiled here by Jen Brea) is being charged with 17 war-crime violations for his role in the Sierra Leone Civil War. Although prosecutors had originally planned to pursue charges in a regional international tribunal located in Sierra Leone itself, fear of violence has led them to suggest moving the trial to the Hague:

Secret talks between the special Sierra Leone court and the Dutch government about transferring Taylor to The Hague began several weeks ago, a Dutch official said.

But on Wednesday, after Taylor's arrest, the Dutch government received a formal request from the court for permission to hold a trial on Dutch soil ...

If the plan goes ahead, Taylor would probably be held at a Dutch high security prison complex in The Hague, where the International Criminal Court has leased 12 cells, but is now occupying only one.