Sierra Leone: EU should Press Nigeria to Hand Over Charles Taylor, says HRW

The European Union and its member states should press for Nigeria to hand over former Liberian president Charles Taylor to the U.N.-backed court for war crimes in Sierra Leone, Human Rights Watch said. The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling on the European Union and its member states to take immediate action to bring about Taylor's appearance before the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The Special Court indicted Charles Taylor on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in contributing to the death, rape, abduction, and mutilation of thousands of civilians during Sierra Leone's civil war from 1991 to 2002. Forced from power in August 2003, the former Liberian president is currently in exile in Nigeria.