Chad sentences aid workers to hard labor

A court in Chad convicted six French aid workers with the charity Zoe's Ark to eight years forced labor for allegedly kidnapping 103 African children. The aid workers claim their purpose was to help orphans displaced by conflicts in Darfur and Chad by rescuing the children from area refugee camps. The allegations regarding the abductions centered on evidence that most of the 103 children lived with a close relative or a parent. The conflict in Darfur escalated in 2003 forcing the displacement of 2.5 million and the deaths of over 200,000 people.

A lawyer for the six defendants Celine Lorenzon said the argument was expected, but said she felt “Chad's justice system didn't do its job” and said much work needs to be done to ensure the Chadian people live “in a republic and have democratic rights,” she said.”

French authorities said they would ask for the aid workers transfer to the custody of French officials. France and Chad have bilateral judicial agreements permitting extraditions in that regard.

On November 27, the Sudanese Interior Minister Zubair Bashir Taha said Sudan planned to sue Zoe's Ark charitable organization for violating international laws by allegedly abducting children from villages and refugee camps in Chad and the Darfur region of Sudan.

"This is not abduction or the luring of children but a war crime," the minister said. He also said Sudan planned to sue representatives in Chad for allowing Zoe's Ark to use its airport to shuttle the children out of the country

Zoe's Ark claims that over-zealous compassion led the agency to improperly proceed through the bureaucracy involving foreign adoptions, while Chadian officials claim they abducted children.

AP