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Melinda Taylor ICC lawyer held in Libya
The delegation had come to Libya to visit in prison the son of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, Seif al-Islam, who is the subject of an international arrest warrant from the ICC for crimes against humanity during the revolution but Tripoli refused to surrender him to the international court.
The ICC members are accused of espionage for trying to exchange documents with Seif al-Islam.
The ICC President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, had demanded the "immediate" detainees,on Saturday expressing concern for their safety, "in the absence of any contact with them."
The case of Seif al-Islam Gaddafi is the center of a tug between the ICC and the provisional authorities of Libya, who want to judge for themselves the son of the deposed president. They filed on May 1, a motion challenging the jurisdiction of the ICC to prosecute Seif al-Islam, held in Libya since his arrest in November in the south.
Melinda Taylor an Australian lawyer and her Libyan interpreter were detained for giving and receiving documents from Saif ul- Islam. According to an account in the Tripoli Post a Libyan observer was left in the room with them and turned out to be a professor of languages including English.
He reported Ms Taylor to the prison administration and the Zintan Brigade which still holds Seif ul Islam, wanted to charge Ms Taylor with espoinage as one of the letters had alledgedly been from an associate of Saif ul- Islam now in Egypt.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the Australian lawyer must be released.
The Queensland lawyerhas been praised as one of the world's best international criminal lawyers.
Melinda Taylor, 36, is a "bright light" and victims' advocate who once put personal feelings aside to ensure former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic received a fair trial, members of Queensland's legal fraternity said.
Taylor's stellar career saw her assigned to the International Criminal Court's most high-profile case - the defence of Saif al-Islam, son of slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi,according to news sources in Australia.
Another ICC team has now arrived in Libya to try to arrange the release of their colleagues.
The ICC members are accused of espionage for trying to exchange documents with Seif al-Islam.
The ICC President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, had demanded the "immediate" detainees,on Saturday expressing concern for their safety, "in the absence of any contact with them."
The case of Seif al-Islam Gaddafi is the center of a tug between the ICC and the provisional authorities of Libya, who want to judge for themselves the son of the deposed president. They filed on May 1, a motion challenging the jurisdiction of the ICC to prosecute Seif al-Islam, held in Libya since his arrest in November in the south.
Melinda Taylor an Australian lawyer and her Libyan interpreter were detained for giving and receiving documents from Saif ul- Islam. According to an account in the Tripoli Post a Libyan observer was left in the room with them and turned out to be a professor of languages including English.
He reported Ms Taylor to the prison administration and the Zintan Brigade which still holds Seif ul Islam, wanted to charge Ms Taylor with espoinage as one of the letters had alledgedly been from an associate of Saif ul- Islam now in Egypt.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the Australian lawyer must be released.
The Queensland lawyerhas been praised as one of the world's best international criminal lawyers.
Melinda Taylor, 36, is a "bright light" and victims' advocate who once put personal feelings aside to ensure former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic received a fair trial, members of Queensland's legal fraternity said.
Taylor's stellar career saw her assigned to the International Criminal Court's most high-profile case - the defence of Saif al-Islam, son of slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi,according to news sources in Australia.
Another ICC team has now arrived in Libya to try to arrange the release of their colleagues.
