Carr welcomes lawyer's release

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has confirmed Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is set to be released by 9pm Monday AEST.

Detained Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor has finally been allowed to make contact with her family.

Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is expected to be released from a Libyan jail today. Source: AFP

UPDATE: THE federal government has welcomed news Libyan authorities are expected to release Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor later today.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr said "all going well" the International Criminal Court lawyer will be released into the custody of Australian officials tonight and will board a plane bound for Europe by midnight.

"We welcome the news that she is likely to be released today," the spokesman told AAP from New York.

"We thank the Libyan authorities for their cooperation."

Australia also thanks the wider international community for their help and support, the spokesman said.

Ms Taylor is likely to be taken to Rome before her onward journey to her home in The Hague.

Ms Taylor, along with three of her ICC colleagues, 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.

Senator Carr has lobbied hard for her release, even visiting the Libyan capital Tripoli last month to press her case.

Ms Taylor was not able to speak to her husband and young daughter until last week.

Senator Carr said Ms 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 Ms 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.

View the original article here

Carr welcomes lawyer's release

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has confirmed Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is set to be released by 9pm Monday AEST.

Detained Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor has finally been allowed to make contact with her family.

Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is expected to be released from a Libyan jail today. Source: AFP

UPDATE: THE federal government has welcomed news Libyan authorities are expected to release Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor later today.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr said "all going well" the International Criminal Court lawyer will be released into the custody of Australian officials tonight and will board a plane bound for Europe by midnight.

"We welcome the news that she is likely to be released today," the spokesman told AAP from New York.

"We thank the Libyan authorities for their cooperation."

Australia also thanks the wider international community for their help and support, the spokesman said.

Ms Taylor is likely to be taken to Rome before her onward journey to her home in The Hague.

Ms Taylor, along with three of her ICC colleagues, 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.

Senator Carr has lobbied hard for her release, even visiting the Libyan capital Tripoli last month to press her case.

Ms Taylor was not able to speak to her husband and young daughter until last week.

Senator Carr said Ms 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 Ms 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.

View the original article here

Release serial killer Birnie: Percy

RELEASE HER: Top QC Tom Percy says serial killer Catherine Birnie has become a "church mouse'' in prison and should be released. Source: PerthNow

REVILED West Australian serial killer Catherine Birnie has become a ``church mouse'' working in a prison library and should be released from jail, one of the state's high-profile lawyers says.

Earlier this week, WA Attorney-General Michael Mischin accepted a recommendation from the state's Prisoners Review Board and kept Birnie behind bars for a further three years.

Birnie, and her partner in crime David, were jailed for 20 years for raping, stabbing, strangling and clubbing to death four victims in their Willagee house, in Perth's southern suburbs, in 1986.

They were caught when a fifth intended victim, a 16-year-old girl, escaped after being abducted at knifepoint.

Under law, Birnie's life sentence is reviewed every three years, and her latest review was turned down in January.

But high-profile QC Tom Percy, an STM columnist,  says the notorious killer, now 61, is unlikely to be a risk to the community and should be freed from Bandyup Women's Prison.

``She has been there 30-odd years and you would think it might be time for us to say she has done her time, she has done her statutory minimum prescribed by the court, which was in possession of all the facts,'' Mr Percy said.

``I am not sure she could really be a threat to anyone any more, and all my information from Bandyup prison is that she is a little old granny that goes about her work in the library like a church mouse.

``You can't think there is any point in keeping her in there.''

In March 2010, former attorney-general Christian Porter decided Birnie would not be given parole or put into a re-socialisation program.

WA's attorney-general in 2007, Jim McGinty, said Birnie should never be freed.

A 2007 review found a low risk of Birnie reoffending but her release was rejected because of the extreme nature of her crimes.

The pair were handed strict security life sentences for the murders. While incarcerated they exchanged more than 2600 letters, but were not allowed any other form of contact.

When David Birnie hanged himself in his protective custody Casuarina Prison cell in 2005, she wasn't allowed to attend his funeral.

Birnie's next statutory parole review will be in 2016, but Mr Percy feared she would never be released.

``We parole all sorts of murderers on a daily basis,'' Mr Percy told 6PR radio.

``This one just so happened to be one that caught the public attention, even though she was not the prime mover in it. He (David) is now dead.

``What's the point of keeping her in there? Sadly it looks like she will never get parole, but I think she probably deserves it.''
 

View the original article here

Carr welcomes lawyer's release

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has confirmed Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is set to be released by 9pm Monday AEST.

Detained Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor has finally been allowed to make contact with her family.

Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is expected to be released from a Libyan jail today. Source: AFP

UPDATE: THE federal government has welcomed news Libyan authorities are expected to release Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor later today.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr said "all going well" the International Criminal Court lawyer will be released into the custody of Australian officials tonight and will board a plane bound for Europe by midnight.

"We welcome the news that she is likely to be released today," the spokesman told AAP from New York.

"We thank the Libyan authorities for their cooperation."

Australia also thanks the wider international community for their help and support, the spokesman said.

Ms Taylor is likely to be taken to Rome before her onward journey to her home in The Hague.

Ms Taylor, along with three of her ICC colleagues, 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.

Senator Carr has lobbied hard for her release, even visiting the Libyan capital Tripoli last month to press her case.

Ms Taylor was not able to speak to her husband and young daughter until last week.

Senator Carr said Ms 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 Ms 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.

View the original article here

Carr welcomes lawyer's release

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has confirmed Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is set to be released by 9pm Monday AEST.

Detained Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor has finally been allowed to make contact with her family.

Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is expected to be released from a Libyan jail today. Source: AFP

UPDATE: THE federal government has welcomed news Libyan authorities are expected to release Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor later today.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr said "all going well" the International Criminal Court lawyer will be released into the custody of Australian officials tonight and will board a plane bound for Europe by midnight.

"We welcome the news that she is likely to be released today," the spokesman told AAP from New York.

"We thank the Libyan authorities for their cooperation."

Australia also thanks the wider international community for their help and support, the spokesman said.

Ms Taylor is likely to be taken to Rome before her onward journey to her home in The Hague.

Ms Taylor, along with three of her ICC colleagues, 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.

Senator Carr has lobbied hard for her release, even visiting the Libyan capital Tripoli last month to press her case.

Ms Taylor was not able to speak to her husband and young daughter until last week.

Senator Carr said Ms 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 Ms 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.

View the original article here

Carr welcomes lawyer's release

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has confirmed Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is set to be released by 9pm Monday AEST.

Detained Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor has finally been allowed to make contact with her family.

Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is expected to be released from a Libyan jail today. Source: AFP

UPDATE: THE federal government has welcomed news Libyan authorities are expected to release Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor later today.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr said "all going well" the International Criminal Court lawyer will be released into the custody of Australian officials tonight and will board a plane bound for Europe by midnight.

"We welcome the news that she is likely to be released today," the spokesman told AAP from New York.

"We thank the Libyan authorities for their cooperation."

Australia also thanks the wider international community for their help and support, the spokesman said.

Ms Taylor is likely to be taken to Rome before her onward journey to her home in The Hague.

Ms Taylor, along with three of her ICC colleagues, 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.

Senator Carr has lobbied hard for her release, even visiting the Libyan capital Tripoli last month to press her case.

Ms Taylor was not able to speak to her husband and young daughter until last week.

Senator Carr said Ms 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 Ms 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.

View the original article here

Carr welcomes lawyer's release

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has confirmed Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is set to be released by 9pm Monday AEST.

Detained Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor has finally been allowed to make contact with her family.

Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is expected to be released from a Libyan jail today. Source: AFP

UPDATE: THE federal government has welcomed news Libyan authorities are expected to release Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor later today.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr said "all going well" the International Criminal Court lawyer will be released into the custody of Australian officials tonight and will board a plane bound for Europe by midnight.

"We welcome the news that she is likely to be released today," the spokesman told AAP from New York.

"We thank the Libyan authorities for their cooperation."

Australia also thanks the wider international community for their help and support, the spokesman said.

Ms Taylor is likely to be taken to Rome before her onward journey to her home in The Hague.

Ms Taylor, along with three of her ICC colleagues, 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.

Senator Carr has lobbied hard for her release, even visiting the Libyan capital Tripoli last month to press her case.

Ms Taylor was not able to speak to her husband and young daughter until last week.

Senator Carr said Ms 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 Ms 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.

View the original article here

Carr welcomes lawyer's release

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has confirmed Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is set to be released by 9pm Monday AEST.

Detained Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor has finally been allowed to make contact with her family.

Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is expected to be released from a Libyan jail today. Source: AFP

UPDATE: THE federal government has welcomed news Libyan authorities are expected to release Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor later today.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr said "all going well" the International Criminal Court lawyer will be released into the custody of Australian officials tonight and will board a plane bound for Europe by midnight.

"We welcome the news that she is likely to be released today," the spokesman told AAP from New York.

"We thank the Libyan authorities for their cooperation."

Australia also thanks the wider international community for their help and support, the spokesman said.

Ms Taylor is likely to be taken to Rome before her onward journey to her home in The Hague.

Ms Taylor, along with three of her ICC colleagues, 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.

Senator Carr has lobbied hard for her release, even visiting the Libyan capital Tripoli last month to press her case.

Ms Taylor was not able to speak to her husband and young daughter until last week.

Senator Carr said Ms 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 Ms 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.

View the original article here

Carr welcomes lawyer's release

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has confirmed Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is set to be released by 9pm Monday AEST.

Detained Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor has finally been allowed to make contact with her family.

Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is expected to be released from a Libyan jail today. Source: AFP

UPDATE: THE federal government has welcomed news Libyan authorities are expected to release Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor later today.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr said "all going well" the International Criminal Court lawyer will be released into the custody of Australian officials tonight and will board a plane bound for Europe by midnight.

"We welcome the news that she is likely to be released today," the spokesman told AAP from New York.

"We thank the Libyan authorities for their cooperation."

Australia also thanks the wider international community for their help and support, the spokesman said.

Ms Taylor is likely to be taken to Rome before her onward journey to her home in The Hague.

Ms Taylor, along with three of her ICC colleagues, 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.

Senator Carr has lobbied hard for her release, even visiting the Libyan capital Tripoli last month to press her case.

Ms Taylor was not able to speak to her husband and young daughter until last week.

Senator Carr said Ms 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 Ms 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.

View the original article here