Foreign Minister designate Bob Carr arrives at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture : Ray Strange Source: The Daily Telegraph
Melinda Taylor, ICC lawyer detained in Libya. Picture: Rob Maccoll Source: The Courier-Mail
- Aussie lawyer held representing Gaddafi's son Seif al-Islam
- She remains in detention in Zintan, Libya
- Authorities say she was trying to pass documents on to Seif
A LIBYAN official says an Australian lawyer detained after meeting Colonel Gaddafi's son is being investigated for spying.
The official was speaking after an International Criminal Court (ICC) team arrived in Tripoli to try to secure lawyer Melinda Taylor's release.
The ICC says its team of four are being held after visiting Gaddafi's son Seif al-Islam in detention on Thursday.
But Ahmed Jehani, Libya's envoy to the international tribunal, says only two members of the team, Taylor and her Lebanese interpreter, Helen Assaf, are in detention.
He says two men, a Russian and a Spanish national, stayed behind of their own accord.
"Melinda was arrested because she was surprised exchanging papers with the accused Seif al-Islam," Jehani said, adding that her Lebanese interpreter was being held as an "accomplice".
"She (Melinda Taylor) had a pen camera and a letter from one of the men most wanted by the Libyan judiciary," Mohammed Ismail, the former right-hand man to Seif who is now on the run, he said.
Jehani said he had seen the letter, which consisted of "drawings" and "symbols", a "code" that cannot be understood except by the person who sent it and the intended recipient, Seif.
"She is under investigation because she committed a crime. According to Libyan law, it would be spying, communication with the enemy."
Taylor works with Xavier-Jean Keita, the defence lawyer appointed by the ICC. Contacted by AFP, Keita declined to make any comment.
The team was there to help Seif choose a defence lawyer and the visit was authorised by Libya's chief prosecutors, according to the ICC.
But Taylor's wardens, members of the same Zintan brigade that captured Seif, say she should have declared the documents instead of sneaking them in.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr has called for her release.
Jehani told AFP that he was working in conjunction with the ICC delegation for the team's release and he hoped the issue could be settled "amicably."
The Hague-based court wants to try both Seif, 39, and his late father's spymaster, Abdullah Senussi, for crimes against humanity committed while trying to put down last year's bloody revolt.
But the new regime in Libya wants to put Seif on trial in a local court.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/newscomaumostpopularworldndm/~3/OfO4cpmWeuw/story01.htm
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