CHAD:France has asked Chad to send home six French aid workers who have been sentenced to eight years hard labour for trying to kidnap 103 children, the foreign ministry in Paris has said.
The four men and two women from French humanitarian group Zoe's Ark were arrested in October as they tried to fly the children, aged one to 10, to Europe for fostering.
French justice minister Rachida Dati yesterday formally requested that the six be transferred to serve their terms in France under a 1976 judicial accord between Paris and its former colony.
"This follows requests by the six convicted French to the French government. The files are being delivered to the Chadian authorities, who will then let the French government know how they intend to respond to this request," Ms Dati's ministry said.
Zoe's Ark had said it was helping to rescue orphans from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region across Chad's eastern border. However most of the 103 children were found to have come from families in Chadian border villages who were persuaded to give up the infants with promises of education at local centres.
A Chadian and a Sudanese accused of acting as accomplices of the Zoe's Ark group were sentenced by the court to four years in jail, while two other Chadians were acquitted.
Wednesday's judgment ended a rushed four-day trial which fuelled speculation of a political deal between Chad and key ally France to send the six home.
Hard labour no longer exists in France, so a transfer there would effectively commute their sentences to imprisonment. France though would require Chadian approval before reducing the terms of their sentences, Chadian justice minister Albert Pahimi Padacke told RTL radio.
The six could face a fresh trial in France over legal suits lodged by European families who had offered to look after the children on arrival in Europe, some of whom diplomats said paid several thousand euros for a child.
Zoe's Ark is an independent organisation formed in 2004 to help provide relief during the Asian tsunami. Its Chad operation was widely condemned as amateurish in France.
The case has caused embarrassment to France, a key backer of Chadian president Idriss Deby and main contributor of troops to an EU peace force being prepared for deployment in eastern Chad, where Mr Deby faces armed rebellion.