Ex-Sierra Leone dictator arrested

Amnesty International says Strasser should be investigated for war crimes

Reports from Gambia say security forces have detained former Sierra Leone military ruler Valentine Strasser, after an attempt to deport him to the United Kingdom was unsuccessful.

Government officials said Mr Strasser was being questioned at national intelligence headquarters in the capital, Banjul.

The officials said Mr Strasser might now be deported to his home country after the United Kingdom authorities refused to have him back earlier this month.

Mr Strasser headed a military government in Sierra Leone from 1992 to 1996 and went to Britain to study after losing power.

Incriminating papers

Mr Strasser was picked up by an army patrol last week and held at a military base before being handed over to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

A military source told the French news agency he was found in possession of "operational" documents giving "strategic" site descriptions.

It was not clear whether the documents referred to the Gambia or Sierra Leone.

Mr Strasser first arrived in Gambia last month, but was deported back to the United Kingdom.

However he was refused entry on the grounds that he had no asylum or student status.

Mr Strasser could now go back to Sierra Leone

He had lived in the United Kingdom for four years - after his overthrow in 1996 he was flown to London in handcuffs.

During his four-year rule in Sierra Leone, Amnesty International accused his troops of atrocities against civilians.

The ex-military man studied law at Warwick University as part of a United Nations-brokered peace deal.

However, his funding was withdrawn a year later. He then lived in a council flat in Islington, north London.