Jewel Howard-Taylor put under house arrest, lawyer says

Former Liberian vice president Jewel Howard-Taylor has been released from pre-trial detention and placed under house arrest in a drug trafficking case, a human rights lawyer told AFP on Saturday.

The lawyer said the 63-year-old was released “on compassionate grounds”. Aides earlier wrote on Facebook that Howard-Taylor was at home with her family. Her release conditions included surrendering all travel documents.

Howard-Taylor was charged on September 2 with alleged involvement in an international drug trafficking network and was placed in pre-trial detention on September 1. She served as vice president from 2018 to 2024 under President George Weah and is now a member of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change.

Her arrest came during a government crackdown on drug trafficking after several major cocaine busts in recent months. Monitors say West Africa is a transit point for cocaine produced in Latin America and shipped to Europe.