Hughes backs Sierra Leone Bill in Parliament

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 13th Jun 2007

North Southwark and Bermondsey MP Simon Hughes this week backed a bill allowing individuals convicted of crimes by the Special Court of Sierra Leone to serve their sentence on UK prisons.

Because the Special Court was not established by a UN Security Council resolution the International Tribunals (Sierra Leone) Bill was debated in Parliament this week to amend the International Criminal Court Act 2001 to allow sentences to be served in Britain.

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is currently the only individual who the Sierra Leone government has requested serve his sentence in the UK.

During the debate in the House of Commons Mr Hughes said:

"At probably every weekly surgery over the past 10 years I have had to deal with the problems suffered by people originally from Sierra Leone.

"Britain was right to decide to help bring about the end of the civil war, and to support the initiative of the democratically elected President of Sierra Leone to hold an international tribunal."

Mr Hughes added:

"This Bill is about a change that will allow us in this country to take another bit of international responsibility to imprison Charles Taylor (the former President of Liberia) if he is convicted. That is absolutely right, and it is a very welcome initiative.

"I take the view that, for people who are convicted of the sort of crimes that are on the indictment, there can be no conclusion other than that they serve their natural life in prison. No other message is acceptable.

"Heads of State, whether they get there by democratic election or by other means-in this case, other means were used-have a higher responsibility than anyone else to set a good example. Therefore, if they are responsible indirectly for the death, injury and rape of so many people by those under their control, they must pay the price."

ENDS