French aid workers convicted of kidnapping may be pardoned by Chad President
March 7, 2008
Chadian president Idriss Déby indicated that clemency was being considered for the six members of the Zoe’s Ark, convicted by a Chadian court to have tried to kidnap 103 Chadian children to France.
The group at the time aid they thought the children were refugee orphans from Darfur. Families in France had been lined up to take the children upon their arrival in France, and money was said to have changed hands. The children were discovered to have been mostly Chadian rather than Sudanese, and to have at least one living parent. It has since come to light that some of these parents were allegedly persuaded to give up their children, being promised a better life and education for them in France. The six French aid workers were stopped from removing the children, put on trial in Chad and sentenced to eight years’ hard labor in that country. Diplomatic appeals from France got the six moved to France to stand another trial and Chad allowed their sentence to be transferred to France where they would serve eight years in a French prison instead of the hard labor in Chad.
Déby was somewhat circumspect however, saying that no final decision had been made for the moment, but that he was not against the idea of a pardon for the French aid workers. He said the pardon could take place in a month or less.
However, complicating the affair is the question of reparations to the families. In its judgment, besides the prison term, the Chadian court also ordered compensation for the families of the victims of nearly 6 million euros. President Idriss Déby pointed out that the question of the compensation was still on the table.
“These families, which will compensate them? Is it France? Or is it the members of Zoe’s Ark?” asks Idriss Déby. The Chadian president specified that the release of the prisoners could not be considered without also settling the question of the financial compensations.
But President of France Nicolas Sarkozy, while he said he and all of France rejoiced at the news that clemency was being considered, refused the idea of France taking responsibility for the payment of the 6 million euros.
And on Friday, Budget Minister for France Eric Woerth stated that the government of France could not be held responsible for the compensation, pointing out that it was not a national debt. The members of Zoe’s Ark, who are charity workers, do not have the financial resources to pay the damages themselves.
It is thought that the President of Chad may back down on the payments as thanks for the help that the Army of France has given him against rebels in his country, help that many feel is responsible for his being able to retain power.
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