More Prison Days for Detained Aussie Lawyer Melinda Taylor in Libya?
Labeled 'National Security Threat'
Detained Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor could be held in Libya for 45 more days, according to a statement issued on Monday by the office of the Attorney-General, confirming an earlier declaration provided by authorities in Zintan, where the Aussie was 'arrested' Thursday last week.
Ms Taylor works for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and was visiting Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, when Zintan officials decided to detain her along with three ICC staff members following an inspection on documents found on her possession.
Libyan authorities contacted by Foreign Minister Bob Carr have indicated that the documents seized from Ms Taylor and her team led Zintan officials to conclude that she's a threat to the country's national security.
The Australian Associated Press (AAP) said on Tuesday that Ms Taylor was caught handing a letter to Seif al-Islam, which reportedly came from Mohammed Ismail, an aide of the Gaddafi son that is wanted by the new Libyan government.
The letter, according to AAP, contained secret codes that allegedly meant to send a secret message that only Seif al-Islam will understand.
Media reports have suggested that Libyan authorities would want to conduct a deeper probe on Ms Taylor and her team, which would necessitate the prolonging of her forced stay in Libya.
"A decision was made to put them in preventive detention for 45 days while investigations are conducted," the statement furnished by the Attorney-General's office said on Monday.
Australian authorities have yet to ascertain where Ms Taylor is being held at the moment and where she would be kept if she remains in Libyan custody for a longer period of time but a Zintan official has hinted that the ICC team members were handed over to a prison facility three days after their arrest.
"They were transferred yesterday (Sunday) to a prison on the orders of the prosecutor general," the official was quoted by AAP as saying.
But the central government in Tripoli dismissed the report as government spokesman Mohamad Al-Hereizi told ABC on Tuesday that Ms Taylor, and likely the rest of the ICC team, have been "taken to a very, very, very good situation."
Mr Hereizi did not clarify if the Aussie was being held outside of a prison facility but he hinted that she remains under the care of Zintan officials.
"There is no jail in Zintan ... The jail in Zintan is broken," the spokesman said in assuring that Ms Taylor was not behind bars at the moment.
But the confusion surrounding Ms Taylor's detention only frustrated Senator Carr, who revealed today that following his task with Libya's deputy foreign minister, the whereabouts of the ICC legal team were not confirmed.
The only things that is certain at this time is Ms Taylor and the rest of the ICC staff were being detained in Zintan, Senator Carr said, adding that Tripoli appears to exercise limited clout on Zintan officials.
"The Australian Government is very concerned that Ms Taylor has reportedly been moved, and has so far not been permitted contact with either a representative of the Australian government, the ICC or her family," Senator Carr said in reiterating Canberra's stance that access must be afforded to the detained legal team.
Also, Ms Taylor's ICC superior, Xavier-Jean Keita, called the arrest illegal and stressed that "they are ICC staff with privilege and immunity."
Meanwhile, ABC has reported that Ms Taylor could soon regain her freedom if she would pinpoint the location of Mr Ismail, who Mr Hereizi described as "very, very, very dangerous for us."
"We don't have anything against this (Ms Taylor). Just we need some information from her, after that she will be free," the government spokesman told ABC in an interview.