- A court in France has sentenced each of the six charity workers to eight years in prison after they were convicted of kidnapping Chadian children.
Chadian court convicted the six workers of Zoë’s Ark in December. This followed the charity worker's evacuation and prosecution in France. In the absence of a hard labour in the French jurisdiction, the court therefore converted an earlier conviction into normal prison terms.
All the charity workers, including Zoë’s Ark founder, Emile Lelouch, were present in court. The court blamed the convicts for breaching the French for their "illegal confinement of minors."
Defence lawyers had earlier faulted the Chadian ruling, arguing that their clients were given unfair trial in "an undemocratic state."
They were still not satisfied with the recent ruling and vowed to file an appeal, arguing that the French court was duty-bound to repair what they called "a terrible injustice."
The court however denied any "blatant denial of justice" during the Chadian trial.
Zoë’s workers' prosecution followed their arrest and detention on 25 October in the eastern Chadian town of Abeche as they attempted to illegally airlift over a hundred children to Europe for adoption.
The group said it was merely rescuing orphans from the troubled Darfur region of Sudan. But international aid agencies later discovered that most of the children who hailed from Chadian border villagers were not orphans.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español