DRC releases Norwegian national in 'humanitarian' deal

Following three trials and eight years in a Congolese prison, a British-Norwegian former soldier is finally free. Joshua French has returned to Norway after what was initially an ambitious attempt to set up a private security company in Africa morphed into a nightmare of almost a decade in detention and the death of his close friend and co-prisoner, Tjostolv Moland. 'We are very happy and relieved, especially on behalf of the family,' French’s lawyer, Hans Graasvold reportedly told Newsweek. Congolese authorities arrested French and Moland, another ex-Norwegian soldier, in May 2009 on suspicion of killing their driver, Abedi Kasongo. The pair said their vehicle had been ambushed by gunmen, who had killed Kasongo. They were put on trial later the same year at a military court in Kisangani in the lawless eastern Congo. The court convicted them of multiple charges, including murder and espionage, and sentenced both to death. The report notes that Norway’s Foreign Minister Borge Brende said French had been transferred as part of a 'humanitarian deal', but that the Congolese Government had not pardoned him.