Former Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor was Thursday taken to a hospital in the capital after developing medical complications while in police custody.
Taylor was transported to the Gomez Institute of Medical Science in Congo Town late Thursday after falling ill in detention.
She was escorted by state security officials including Liberia National Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman and newly appointed Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency Director retired General Daniel Ziankahn.
The ex-vice president would return home while authorities continue probe for appropriate evidence to put her on trial, according to people privy to the matter.
Taylor was expected to appear in court Thursday morning, a day after prosecutors charged her with multiple offenses linked to alleged drug-trafficking crimes. She did not appear until later in the day when news emerged about her medical condition.
For nearly 48 hours after the charges were announced, prosecutors had not publicly explained how Taylor was allegedly connected to the drug-trafficking investigation. The former vice president has denied the accusations.
Former President George Weah, Taylor’s political ally, described her arrest and detention as politically motivated and an act of tyranny by President Joseph Boakai’s administration.
In a statement issued Wednesday night, Weah said the government had violated Taylor’s constitutional rights by preventing her from traveling and subsequently detaining her without prior notice. He said Taylor had “vehemently, strenuously and categorically” denied the allegations.
“We support all legal and judicious efforts to rid Liberia of the current drug epidemic,” Weah said, while accusing the government of using the investigation to score political points and link the previous Congress for Democratic Change administration to major cocaine seizures.
Weah also criticized the government for what he called a lack of supporting evidence in its accusations and said he would return to Liberia to mobilize the CDC through political and legal means.
The government has not publicly responded in detail to Weah’s allegations. Authorities have not disclosed Taylor’s medical condition.
