Man arrested by MPS over alleged Liberian civil war crimes
A man has been arrested for alleged war crimes committed during the Liberian Civil War.
The suspect, who in his forties, was detailed in Newcastle on Wednesday (September 7) and an address in the area was searched by officers.
The arrest is part of an ongoing investigation being led by the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) War Crimes Team, which is part of the Counter Terrorism Command.
The operation was also supported by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North East.
The man is suspected of offences contrary to Section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001. The MPS said he has been taken into police custody.
The arrest follows a referral made to the MPS’s War Crimes Team in January 2021, and relates to alleged war crimes committed during the Liberian Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The War Crimes Team, which sits within the MPS’s Police Counter Terrorism Command, has national responsibility for investigating and bringing to justice anyone who may fall under the UK’s jurisdiction and who is suspected of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide or torture anywhere in the world.
The MPS said: “All allegations of war crimes referred to the War Crimes Team are considered, assessed and dealt with in line with the War Crimes/Crimes Against Humanity referral guidelines, which are jointly agreed with the Crown Prosecution Service.”
It added that investigations often require inquiries to be made, and evidence to be recovered from, overseas, so they are often “very complex and lengthy”.