Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr headed to Libya on Monday to press for the release of Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor, who is being held in Libya on suspicion of spying.

Taylor was a member of an International Criminal Court team who are being held in Libya after meeting the son of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi. 

The delegation, including Australian Melinda Taylor and colleagues from Lebanon, Russia and Spain, were detained on June 7 as they helped Seif al-Islam choose a defense lawyer.

Libyan officials have alleged Taylor was carrying a pen camera and attempting to give Seif a coded letter from his former right-hand man, Mohammed Ismail, who is on the run.

The Hague-based ICC wants to try Seif, 39, for crimes against humanity.

Carr, who was in the region after attending a meeting of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative in Istanbul, said he would be pushing for their release.

 

Source: BNA