Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is expected to be released from a Libyan jail today. Source: AFP
AUSTRALIAN lawyer Melinda Taylor is expected to be released from a Libyan jail after she was detained while visiting the son of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
The International Criminal Court says it expects Ms Taylor and her three ICC colleagues will be released soon.
"The ICC president is going to Libya tomorrow and the release of the four ICC staff members is expected tomorrow," ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah said on Sunday.
Taylor was detained in the Libyan city of Zintan on June 7 while representing Seif al-Islam, the son of the former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Libyan officials said she was found carrying documents for Seif that were judged a threat to national security.
Taylor was not able to speak to her husband and young daughter until last week.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Taylor was permitted to call her home in The Hague shortly after a visit by Australia's ambassador David Ritchie.
Mr Carr subsequently spoke to Taylor's Brisbane-based parents John and Janelle, who were relieved to hear she was finally allowed a phone call.
Her parents had pleaded with Libya to release their daughter in time for her toddler's third birthday in July.
The three other detained ICC staffers are from Lebanon, Russia and Spain.
Mr Carr said a week ago that talks in The Hague between the ICC and the Libyan authorities had resulted in "the ICC expressing regret, effectively an apology for any misunderstandings".
The ICC has stopped short of admitting to any wrongdoing but has said it will fully investigate its team's behaviour upon their return.
"When the ICC has completed its investigation, the Court will ensure that anyone found responsible for any misconduct will be subject to appropriate sanctions," it added in a statement issued last month.
The ICC wants to try Seif al-Islam, 39, for crimes against humanity during his father's rule, which came to an abrupt end last year.
Tripoli insists he should be tried locally and filed on May 1 a motion challenging the ICC's jurisdiction to put him on trial in The Hague.
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